Common Worlds
by BlazingCard
Summary: A psychic from Earth decided that the current world he lived in was not good enough, so he tried to find the paradise called MAR-Heaven. But doing so would endanger both worlds, as his counterpart has different goals in mind. Lots of implications of other series.
1. The One Who Breaks Anything

A/N: I have no idea how to write a story… especially when I try to cross-over two completely different mangas. :D Help appreciated.

I do not own MAR and YYH.

Anyways, here I go!

A few notes:

-The time period is set after the manga for both series. (For MAR, it's after the original)

-The Human World and the Demon World, along with the Spirit World, are separate dimensions, but they are intertwined, whereas Mar-Heaven is further away. Think of the relationship between three cities (Human, Demon and Spirit Worlds) and two countries (The 3 + Mar-Heaven).

-The Human World in Yu Yu Hakusho is the same as the Human World in MAR.

-Names are expressed in the traditional way (last name first).

-I realized that a portion of the story was cut off. I added it back.

**-In the beginning of the story, the plot is not very evident. In fact, MAR characters may not even appear just yet.*****

* * *

><p>The Spirit World is always a busy place, with ogres always running around addressing to the tasks given out by Koenma, the new head of the Spirit World. Almost a year before, the Spirit World was subjected to two dilemmas in a row – including a hostage situation. In the aftermath, Koenma saw to it himself that the security is tripled.<p>

He needs to regularly perform these actions to veer away from his image as… a toddler. Unfortunately for him, a super-long lifespan promotes a slower growing speed. He's still sucking on a pacifier – but few people know of the true intention of that.

"Argh! There are times when I wish that Father was back, so he can do some of this damn paperwork…" The blue-dressed toddler flailed around.

Jorge Saotome, the blue ogre, spoke up. "But, sir, all you have to do is to stamp papers… with all due respect… how hard can that be?" Koenma gave him his death glare. Jorge suddenly decided that the stack of papers in his arms can wait for a few days.

"I'm bored. I'm gonna go to the Human World for a while, bye." Koenma was just about to hop off his chair when Botan suddenly ran into the room with another piece of paper. "Dammit, Botan, not now! Give it to Yusuke or something!"

Botan's pink kimono finally stood still. "Koenma, major trouble in the Human World! There's a psychic's _territory_ detected in Tokyo!"

"But there's like, twenty psychics there. It's not uncommon for a guy to slip up and exert his or her powers," said Koenma.

Botan kept at it: "At the same time, a demolition company is at work. They are knocking down two very tall buildings after the earthquake damaged them."

"…Botan, go on a vacation or something. As will I. We both need it…"

"But isn't it strange? There are no machines there! No wrecking balls! And one of the buildings are already down!" This piqued Koenma's attention. "You mean… Koenma, how could you have missed this?" At this point, her hair turned frizzy.

Koenma immediately sat up straight in his chair. "Show me the situation in Tokyo." Instantly, a screen lowered from the ceiling. A pile of rubble was shown, along with a few workers in helmets. Two of them, however, were dressed in suits.

"It is strange that they don't have any safety equipment on," said Koenma, "but they might just be the patrons."

"And what about the psychic?

Koenma cleared his throat. "No matter how powerful a psychic is, there's no way a guy can knock down a skyscraper without some sort of spell or strength, like Togoro. I'll have to investigate this. Botan, go to Genkai and find out any info about the powers of currently known psychics!"

"Alright!" Botan ran out and flew off to the Human World on her oar.

"Why is it that it's always Japan with the weirdos," sighed Koenma. "Why can't it be France or Italy? Then I can also do a bit of sightseeing…"

* * *

><p>"Order up!" Urameshi Yusuke shouted. In front of him sat a fat man, a short man and a guy with five horns sprouting from his head. "Hey, order up! Which one of you bastards got this one?"<p>

"Here, I'll take it."

"Asshole! I asked for that!"

"Go die!" The three started to fight.

"Geez, I'll just get two more. Don't screw this place up, or I'll kill you all," said Yusuke. He went back to his kitchenware. The horned demon spoke, "Hey, did you hear about that place in Tokyo?"

"Yeah, I heard that they were gonna build some sort of metal tower there that's as tall as one of those buildings. Apparently it's not for people to go in."

"That must cost a fortune! Who the hell would pay for that?"

"Beats me, some stupid billionaire with nothing to do in life, I suppose."

"Stupid humans."

"Take your damn noodles, guys." Yusuke handed out two bowls. Just then, a tall guy with curly hair showed up at the noodle stand.

"Urameshi! I thought you went back to the Demon World again!" This was Kuwabara Kazuma.

"Meh, I had nothing left to do. All I ever did was train. I thought I could chill here for a while."

Kuwabara was irked by this comment. "Heh, I don't suppose you wanna fight me again?"

"Naw, I'd just kick your ass." He clenched his fists happily.

"Why you little –"

A red-headed man walked to the noodle stand. "Yo, Kurama," said Yusuke.

"Long time no see," said Kurama.

"Yeah, but what brings you here?" asked Kuwabara.

"I have a few… matters to discuss with you," said Kurama.

"Matters?" Everything Kurama says usually interests Yusuke.

"Actually, not with me directly. You'll have to talk to Genkai to get the details. But it seems that a psychic is on the loose again, and he's much more of a menace this time."

"Heh! Another one of those bastards. Time for me to show off my skills again," said Kuwabara. He flexed his muscles and grinned.

Yusuke knocked him on the head. "Don't get cocky! This guy might be a shrimp, but he probably has a hidden Ace somewhere. Remember last time?" They shuddered at the thought of their capture at that strange house. "For all we know, this guy could have mind control!"

"Or zombies!"

Kurama sighed. _At least it's not… the other thing._

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the Spirit World, there was a large temple painted red. It was surrounded by trees and mountains; it looked similar to Earth. However, there was only one resident. This old female sat with four guests, all of them with a cup of tea.<p>

Genkai sipped her tea. Sipped? I mean, she doubled-over her cup and drained the whole thing. "Alright, there's another psychic for you guys this time."

Botan, Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara were listening attentively.

"Now, the problem is, this guy's powers are not documented. Heck, I have no idea who the guy is." Everyone else fell over. "But a good place to start would be the demolition site. Botan, you said that there were no machines? The psychic's powers can instantly demolish a building… this could prove troublesome."

"Well, I think we should head over there now, to save time," said Yusuke.

"Yeah! I've also mastered the Jigen-tou, now I'm unstoppable!"

"Your toy is dog piss compared to my punches!"

"You wanna fight?"

"YOU STUPID FOOLS, DID YOU EVER GIVE A CRAP ABOUT WHAT I'VE SAID?" Genkai dropped her cup. "This guy will fuck you over if you don't be careful!"

"Genkai's right, guys," said Kurama. "In order to do this, I think I should lead the mission. I've been around there before, and I am familiar with the situation."

"Huh. Alright." Yusuke sat back down.

"Wait! Isn't there another guy that comes along with us?"

-Botan is ignored and neglected-

"Hiei is on patrol duty. Besides, after living with Mukuro, this is the first time I've seen him… happy. Let him be," said Kurama. On that note, the three of them left for Tokyo.

"Those idiots will probably get themselves killed again, Botan."

Botan blinked furiously. "Ba-san, how do a psychic's powers work anyways?"

Genkai sighed. "First of all, a psychic has a '_territory_'. That range can be anywhere from a nanometer to a mile, or even more. Within this _territory_, the psychic's abilities can work. His/her physical abilities are slightly enhanced. Rei perception is also enabled. Each psychic has a unique special power – _anything_ is possible. Like Kaitou's, I assume you remember him, he nullifies all physical strength."

"Wait! Why can't we just hide in Kaitou's _territory_? Then we can just go to this guy and tie him up."

"Kaitou's _territory_ is not very big. Also, once he falls asleep, or is affected by a different force, his _territory_ will end. It also drains a lot of his _Reiki_. Any psychic's _territory_ will disappear if the psychic is no longer awake or conscious."

* * *

><p>"So, this is it, huh?" said Yusuke. He, Kuwabara and Kurama was face to face with a beat-up building.<p>

"This is the second of the buildings scheduled for demolition," said Kurama.

Kuwabara shivered. "There's this weird vibe here… someone's _territory_." A billboard is reduced to pieces right in front of his eyes, which bulged out.

Kurama became alert. "He's here! And what powerful _Reiki_!"

"There he is!" Yusuke pointed to a man in a white suit. "Wait, is this guy going to a party?"

The man smiled at them. "Hello, how may I help you?"

" 'How may I help you' my ass! Die! _Jigen-tou!_" Kuwabara charged at the man.

"My, my," he said. He touched the glowing sword. "Holy… he touched it with his bare hands!" exclaimed Yusuke.

Instantly, the sword vaporized.

Kurama gritted his teeth. _What is his ability? Super strength? Reiki negation? Magnetic waves?_

"Fubuki Miura is my name," said the man. He took a bow. Then, he took a look at Kurama. "You're an interesting creature. Are you a demon?"

"That technique… I'm curious to know what it is," said Kurama calmly. Kuwabara quickly retreated.

"That guy… what the fuck is he?"

Fubuki touched a window. "Why don't you figure it out?" The window immediately shattered.

"What? There was no force exerted there!"

"You are correct."

"No force… you can break objects by touching them with your bare skin," he decided.

Fubuki clapped his hands. "Very good."

"But your clothes are intact."

"Ah, well, if my power worked like that, it would be hard to meet my acquaintances! Now, please step back as I finish my job." He walked over to the building and put his hand on the stone wall. "This is when we all run."

The building made the ground shake violently. Kurama quickly jumped away, while Yusuke and Kuwabara ran for their lives. Fubuki joined the gang as the stone tumbled down. "There, the main construction area is done. Excuse me as I go collect my pay and deliver my requests. By the way, you guys have some interesting powers. Care to introduce yourselves?"

"Minamino Shuichi, but call me Kurama."

"Urameshi Yusuke! I'll kick your ass!"

Kuwabara stared, shocked. _This guy took down… took down… &*#0_)%!_ Evidently Kuwabara's mind is not intact at the moment. "Ku... Kuwabara Kazuma…"

Kurama stepped forward. "You have incredible powers. I doubt that breaking things is the full extent. Tell me, why are you doing this?"

Fubuki thought for a moment. "It takes a lot of space to build a strong interdimensional laser, especially one that is obscured from the public. The first site was to test the grounds… apparently that location was too populated, so I'll just build a mall there or something."

"Grr… this kid thinks he's so rich…" Kuwabara mocked.

"Interdimensional laser? Why would you want that anyways?" asked Kurama.

"Kuwabara Kazuma's _Jigen-tou_, as speculated, was is powerful enough. Neither is the one in the Spirit World."

"Don't get specific with me. What is your true intention?"

Fubuki paused. Finally, he said one word, a word that almost meant nothing, and yet it meant everything; now, the whole world they once knew had changed:

"MÄR-Heaven."


	2. The Land of Dreams

Common Worlds Chapter 2

* * *

><p>Alviss looked at the letter in front of him. He usually never get any mail at all, albeit one from Kaldea. If someone had really needed to contact him, it must have been urgent. The letter read:<p>

_Alviss,_

_A common man would not understand the predicament that we are in right now. In truth, there is nothing wrong – but yet I must inform you of our latest discovery. It seems that, after some research, we have found more information about __**other worlds**__. _(The writer carefully traced these words many times before circling them) _You know exactly what I am talking about – it is related to the home-world of Ginta and his father. Don't you wish to see him again? Here at Kaldea, we are working on a way to travel to these worlds without the Monban Piero's help. If you would like to participate in this project, stop by the city tomorrow._

_-Grand Elder of Kaldea_

_Note: This is all a secret. With the exception of those in MÄR, do not give anyone any details._

He sighed. Finally after the War Games and the eradication of the Fake ÄRMs, MÄR-Heaven needed something else to deal with. There are so many questions in his mind, but he hoped that they would be answered tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"MÄR-Heaven? What the hell is that?" shouted Kuwabara.<p>

"You haven't been exactly descriptive to us so far," said Kurama. "It would do you good to explain this strange word. What does have to do with an interdimensional laser?"

Fubuki lowered his head. There was too much to say, or rather there was too much he could not say. "Kurama, you're bright. Use your head. What can I do with the laser?"

Kurama thought for a moment. _MÄR-Heaven… laser… There's nothing I can think of! I have no idea what this MÄR-Heaven is! This guy must be crazy, his psychic powers must be straining him… wait… what if-_

"Stop standing there like a fool, Kurama! It's obvious that this guy is dangerous."

"Me? Dangerous? Wait until I introduce you to the ÄRM…" said Fubuki.

"Air-um? First this Heaven-thing, now this? What the **** are you saying?" Yusuke scratched his head.

"It's expected that you don't understand. You've never had the same dreams that I had."

Yusuke clenched his fist. _For this guy, I might need to use my _Yoki_ too… _Reiki_ might not be good enough!_

Fubuki smiled. "Well, if I may, I'll just take my leave…"

"REI-GUN!"

Yusuke held his right hand up like a pistol and shot a beam of blue light at Fubuki. _Child's play_, he thought. Fubuki pointed at the _Rei-Gun_ and immediately nullified it. "I told you, I can break anything." His finger was slightly burned. "Eh, I was careless for a bit, I guess."

"What the? This guy's not normal!" shouted Yusuke. Kurama watched carefully.

"Take this! Double-Barrel!" Yusuke held up his other hand too this time, only the left hand shot a beam of red light. Fubuki widened his eyes and held up his left hand as well and made the lights disappear.

"That's _Yoki_! Are you a demon as well as a human, hmm…?" Fubuki pondered.

Yusuke panted. "That's it, I'm out of ideas."

Kurama relaxed his stance and posture. "I see. There's nothing special about that. I know exactly what happened."

"Oh?"

"You said that you can break anything. I didn't realize that it would work at this scale."

"Care to explain?"

Kurama began: "By moving before the _Reiki_ and _Yoki_ could reach you, you held up your hands and used your power. What we all forgot about was the _air_ around us; you can technically _break_ that too. It caused a ripple that was able to absorb the impact of the two beams and let them burn out. Had I not seen a wind master also divert a _Rei-Gun_, I would have never figured this out. But your power has very open boundaries."

Fubuki clapped his hands. "Well done. Not only are you shrewd, but also experienced. Anything else I should know about you?"

Kurama plucked a seed from his hair. "I'm resourceful. And murderous. This plant from the Demon World will demonstrate." The seed was placed in the rubble, and it started to sprout. Vines with large black bulbs suddenly popped out of the ground, entangling everything.

Fubuki: "Nothing to worry about." He quickly laid waste to the plants.

Kurama smiled. "At this point, you made a grave error." Fubuki looked around, then his eyes widened. _Bombs?_

"Ahahahahaha! Kurama got you now! There's no way you can run!" Kuwabara pointed and laughed.

The bulbs from the plants exploded, sending debris everywhere. Fubuki grimaced as his suit jacket was torn apart. For some reason, he was unhurt for the most part.

"It seems that I have underestimated you. Kurama, Urameshi Yusuke, and Kuwabara Kazuma. I will remember you all. Perhaps in a few days, MÄR-Heaven will also welcome you with open ÄRMs." A wooden door appeared under his feet.

"Hey! What the hell?" Yusuke shouted.

"He's a witch! Burn the witch!" said Kuwabara.

"So long, my friends. Until we meet again!" The door opened, sending Fubuki into the abyss.

Yusuke tensed. "Damn! He got away!"

"Calm down, Yusuke," said Kurama. "He will come back to build the laser, remember? I'm interested to find out how this will happen without all of Japan's attention."

"That guy said something about MÄR-Heaven or something. Maybe we should find out what that is?" asked Kuwabara.

Yusuke went ballistic. "Sounds like a weapon. You know, 'MÄR-HEAVEN HAMMER!'" He waved an imaginary stick around like a little child.

Kurama put his hand on his chin. "I think that MÄR-Heaven is definitely not a weapon. I doubt that it's even an object. Let's go tell Koenma about this… maybe he has an idea."

* * *

><p>"There's traces of <em>Reiki<em> everywhere, but no sign of the door! ARGHHH! What kind of riddle is this…" Koenma clutched his head.

"Sir, more paperwork for you."

"YOU CAN TAKE THE PAPER AND SHOVE IT UP-"

"Lord Koenma, sir, a message." This was a woman's voice.

Koenma: "Oh? And who is this from?"

"The source is unknown. Besides, this is only an image-based message."

Koenma: "What does it look like?"

"Well, that's the problem. It's something strange. You take a look at it."

Koenma's display screen dropped to ground level. Instantly, a cold shiver came over his back.

"_The Path to MÄR-Heaven Will Be Upon Us._"

Koenma stared at the screen. _MÄR-Heaven… where have I heard that before? Oh! That was a childhood fairy tale about an imaginary land! It is said that a few humans see this world in their dreams... damn, it's time for a trip to the Spirit World Library, huh…_

The Spirit World Library was a dusty, dark area. It has been unoccupied for almost three centuries. _Where do I find a book in a place like this?_

After hours of searching, Koenma found the right book: _MÄR_. The title was fancifully engraved on its cover in red. He opened up the book and saw pictures of beautiful landscapes filled with jolly people. The next page showed a map of some sort, with various islands and a vast ocean.

_Brings back memories as a kid…_

The third page he saw showed an extravagant kingdom named Lestava. _Wait! I'm supposed to be looking for things that are unnatural! This is just a story book, but for some reason I'm enticed…_

Finally, he saw the word "Kaldea". It was a place full of sorcerers who had magical items. _This is useless, I gotta get back to work right now._ When he tried to put the book back, he noticed the binding of another book. _Huh? Someone must have put this in the wrong place._ The title of the book was _Common Worlds_. It was a dusty brown book with a feeling of mystery. Inside, it showed theories of multiple universes and how they were connected. The more Koenma read, the more chills were sent up his back. He looked at _MÄR_ and back at _Common Worlds_. He thought, _No way! That's impossible!_

Somewhere in a suburban neighborhood, a man with spiked hair sat on a hill, scribbling in his notebook. There were pictures of grotesque monsters, along with people and animals.

"Hmm? What is this feeling that I am getting… for some reason, Mar-Heaven feels like its in danger…"

A young woman walked by him. "Ginta, are you thinking about Mar-Heaven again?"

"Koyuki, do you have this feeling of uneasiness these days, about that place?"

"Ginta, you said it yourself. MÄR-Heaven is in peace now," said Koyuki.

Ginta bit his pencil. "But it feels… closer. Not the good closer. It's as if someone is calling out… or someone is trying to get in."

"Let's talk about it later. We should get home before it gets dark."

A few meters away, Fubuki Miura lowered his head. He was dressed in a new gleaming white suit, and his hair was neatly brushed. "MÄR-Heaven, huh? Lucky me…" The moment he put his hand on a nearby boulder, it burst into nothing.


	3. The Other Side

A/N: You may not see much stuff from MÄR, but I guarantee that there will be more on the next updates!

-Common Worlds: Chapter 3-

* * *

><p>In the land of MÄR-Heaven, Kaldea can be considered as an isolated area from the rest of the world. The isolation is for the sake of the safety of its people, as Kaldea is populated by sorcerers with powerful items known as ÄRMs. Most of the time, a Dimensional-ÄRM is needed to reach the city; that is exactly what Alviss used to get to the Grand Elder.<p>

"Welcome to Kaldea again, Alviss." The Grand Elder stepped out of a circle he was standing in.

"Grand Elder, what have you called me for?" asked Alviss.

"As I have mentioned in the letter, we have been doing some research regarding parallel worlds. We have, of course, a sponsor for such a task. He will be joining us in our meeting."

Just then, the wall creaked and shivered. A door appeared out of nowhere with an elegant design. The stone framework of the door was detailed with carvings that looked like fluid energy. A blue stone glowed on the top of the frame. The door opened as a man stepped out slowly; his snow-white hair waved gently. He wore white robes that resembled a suit of some sort, as if the man was a gentleman going to a party.

"He prefers to be anonymous," said the Grand Elder. "But he seems to have an explicit knowledge of the matter."

Alviss scanned the man. _No magic power at all, yet he can use a Dimension-ÄRM?_ "So you are the head of the research project."

The door glowed before it shrank into a ring that clung onto the man's finger. He took a bow. "You must be Alviss. And you are correct."

"Might I ask where you come from?"

"That is a complicated story," said the man-in-white. He gave a grin that made Alviss' eye twitch.

_Nothing… there's nothing in this guy! How is he hiding it? Why is he hiding his power?_

"Now, before I fill you in on the plan, Alviss, let me fill you in on a briefing of your existence." The air in the room suddenly felt thick with tension.

"Our world, MÄR-Heaven, is isolated from everything else. There are no aliens, as far as I know. We are all contained in a bubble, so to speak. With that, the other worlds get involved. This world's "borders" are very low – that forces its inhabitants to be confined in a small area, forcing them to develop faster. That's why we are aware of the energy in our bodies, what we call magic power. Some worlds are ignorant of such knowledge. Your friend, Toramizu Ginta-" Alviss gave a searing stare – "-comes from such a world. Of course, there are always those who are more developed than others, but we're talking about a majority."

"And what does the knowledge of magic power have to do with anything?" asked Alviss.

"The bank of wisdom in each world determines its power."

The Grand Elder spoke up: "Alviss, please be more willing to accept this information. If you have a hard time with this, then you will surely have difficulty with our project."

"What project?"

The man-in-white laughed. "We are going to open a rift to the world of Toramizu Ginta!"

Alviss: "What? If you want to go there, use the Monban Piero! Don't drag the rest of our world into this!" He was evidently aware of the energy it takes to perform such feats.

"Of course, the people of Kaldea have devised a solution for this."

"And what is that?"

"I proposed that we build a giant ÄRM, an interdimensional laser that will cut through the boundary of this world. We have already designated a construction site on an uninhabited island, and construction has already started."

Alviss clenched his fist. "Do you have any idea how much energy will be needed to power this thing? You've gone too far!"

He stood still with fear, as if an invisible force restrained every muscle in his body. _This… this magic power! I can't die here…_

The Grand Elder stepped forward. "Now, now, there shall be no aggression." He looked at the stranger. "You better go monitor the laser."

"Yes, sir. Dimension ÄRM, Myriagon Gate." The same door appeared, and he vanished with it.

"Alviss, I must inform you that no one else knows of the laser. Can I trust you to keep the secret?"

_Damn! I have to go warn Dorothy! She's my last chance at stopping this nonsense…_

* * *

><p>After their untimely defeat, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama found themselves in Koenma's office. Yusuke still showed signs of anger and frustration after losing so easily.<p>

"God ****ing damn it! I couldn't even touch him!"

"And if you hit him, you get blasted into smithereens!" said Kuwabara.

Koenma sighed. "You guys are lucky to be alive. From what I heard, he can break anything by touch in his _territory_, even thin air! Anyways, I got an interesting message from an anonymous sender. Here it is, guys."

When the three people saw the display screen, they were all shocked.

"It must have been that Fubuki guy!"

"That guy has contact with the Spirit World!"

"It seems that we are in bigger trouble than we thought we were."

Koenma: "Yes. It appears that your psychic enemy is linked with this word: MÄR-Heaven."

"But what's that supposed to mean?" asked Yusuke.

"Well, MÄR-Heaven is a completely different world. It hardly exists in the Human World, and is a bedtime story for those in the celestial zone, such as us. I'm surprised that people still remember this name."

"What? So… we're hunting for a guy who's trying to go to some non-existent wonderland?" exclaimed Kuwabara.

"Not quite…" a bead of sweat dropped down Koenma's forehead. "I've done a bit of reading, and *gulp* I've came to a conclusion that hardly seems real: MÄR-Heaven is a different world that's faraway from ours.

"You see, there are three connected worlds that we know of for sure: The Human World, the Spirit World, and the Demon World. We can travel between all of them freely to a certain extent. However, beyond _these_ boundaries is another set of worlds. They are much farther away from us, and at a much greater scale."

"And this man, Fubuki, wants to create a laser that will open a rift to directly land in MÄR-Heaven," said Kurama.

"Correct. Yusuke! Kuwabara! Kurama! You must stop this laser from activating! We have no idea what could happen if these worlds collide!"

"No problem! I thought my days were getting boring but this is just what I needed!" said Yusuke. Kuwabara gave a comical "salute" gesture.

"One question, Koenma. Should we face any difficulty, are we permitted to kill Fubuki Miura?" Kurama did not hesitate to bring up the subject.

Koenma gave a serious look. "If the situation occurs, I expect you guys to deal with it quickly and to the best of your ability."

"Excellent. Then there's no holding back."

* * *

><p>"You were slightly late, Yuu. I could have been killed." <em>Fubuki Miura; Ability: Catastrophe<em>

"Ah, shut up, Miura. It was hard to concentrate on all that rubble. Where was I supposed to fit a door?" _Rin Yuu; Ability: Gatekeeper_ (*Note: this is different from the anime)

"Anyways, when's the tall guy going to finish the laser?"

"I say we can give him two days," said Fubuki.

"Alright. And what's up with you? Are you going to some wedding?" Yuu pointed at his suit.

"This is my regular attire. I prefer this over your sense of style. That coat and jeans makes you look like a rebellious teenager."

"Isn't that what I am?"

"I guess so," said Fubuki. He rubbed his fingers together. "One day, I had a dream about MÄR-Heaven. There was my alter-ego calling me." He brushed his white hair with his fingers. "He said, 'contact will be made soon. Work towards it, fire the ray of light and illuminate the path.' Then he shared his knowledge with me, knowledge about the universe."

"And that's what promoted you to do this project?" asked Rin.

"Yeah. So how about you?"

"I just want to see it," said Rin. "I don't care what happens. I want to end my life knowing that I saw my dream in reality."

"…Wow. That's deep, kid. You have everything you want – money, food, people, the power to make a door to anywhere – and yet you're still not satisfied. You can't be confined to this world, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's slightly different from everyone else's point of view."

"Uh huh… hey Miura, what's gonna happen tomorrow?"

"…It's a secret. But I promise you that it will be a _blast_."


	4. Behind the Scenes

Common Worlds: Chapter 4

A/N: Support is greatly appreciated!

* * *

><p>A group of people stood in front of a house, waiting patiently for an answer to their knocking. The house was occupied by a couple comprised of a tall man with spiked hair, and a beautiful woman who had blue hair.<p>

The woman said: "Who is it, Ginta?"

"I don't know, but they don't look like they are from these places."

Ginta opened the door and escorted the men in. The one in front took a bow. "Good morning! You are Toramizu Ginta, right?" What was strange about this particular man was that he was sucking on a light-blue pacifier, almost like a baby. The pacifier seemed to not have affected his speech at all. But it did not stop there – the letters "Jr." were written on his forehead.

"Yeah, that's me. Who are you guys?" Two men dressed in white uniforms followed the strange man.

"It's a long story. But for now, you can call me Koenma. May we stay for a while longer?" asked the one with the pacifier.

"I'm sorry, sir – I don't understand. I think that you should leave." The other girl hid behind Ginta.

Koenma cleared his throat. "Well, of course you don't understand. It's been a while since your previous incident. You've gone to a place _far away_, haven't you?" This caught Ginta's attention.

"…If I let you in, will you explain?"

"Yes." _Whew, I thought that I got the wrong person, and then it would get really complicated,_ thought Koenma.

"Koyuki, can you make some tea?"

"Sure."

Koenma and his followers walked into the living room and sat on a couch. Ginta sat opposite to them. Koyuki came in with five cups of hot, aromatic tea.

Koenma began: "Thank you. Now, before we begin, I would like to introduce myself. I am Koenma, ruler of the Spirit World. These two men here are part of the SDF, or the Special Defense Force. They are also from the Spirit World. As for what that is, it is the place where souls go when they die. It is also where ogres and people like myself live… we regulate the activity in Human World as well."

"…I don't know why, but for some reason, I want to believe you," said Ginta. "But wait – If you're the ruler of the Spirit World, does that mean that I'm dead, and you're going to send me away? I haven't done anything wrong!"

The SDF men comically fell over. _This guy is an idiot,_ thought Koenma. "No, in fact, you're still alive. But I did mention about your… journey, right?"

"Yeah. And I would like to know how much you know about it."

"Actually, besides the fact that you _have_ gone somewhere, I have no idea what happened to you. But just that in itself is important – for you see – both worlds may be in danger."

"AHHH I BURNED MY TONGUE!" The left SDF member screamed. The second one punched him in the face.

"Forgive me," said Koenma, "my bodyguards are sometimes… not really there."

Ginta sipped his tea. "Well, how do I know the things you say are legit? You tell me something about my life that no one but Koyuki should know. You're supposed to be from the Spirit World? Who are you?"

Koenma and his guards stood up. "Fine, we will prove to you that we are different from the others." Suddenly, Ginta became alert. _Magic power._

_Whoa! Their magic powers are crazy high!_ "Wait! We're going to fight?"

"What are they doing, Ginta?" Koyuki said.

"So you _can_ sense it. We have just brought up our _Reiki_, or spirit power," Koenma explained.

"Spirit power…? But even if it is high, without an ÄRM, it doesn't mean anything. There are no ÄRMs in this world."

_ÄRM? What is that?_ Koenma gave a confused look. "What is this 'air-um' you are talking about?"

"ÄRMs are items that allow you to conduct your magic power. Without them, you can't do anything. I thought that powerful people like you guys should know what they are."

Finally, Koenma understood. "I see. So these ÄRMs are part of MÄR-Heaven, right? It was mentioned in the book, now that I think about it…"

"Book?"

"That's not your problem. But let me just give you a demonstration; in this world, people know how to use _Reiki_, or your so-called 'magic power', without the use of items. Open the window." Frightened, Koyuki immediately obeyed.

Koenma held up his right index finger, making his hand look like a gun. "_Rei-Gun!_" A ray of blue light shot out of his finger and flew through the window, eventually hitting the sky. A loud explosion can be heard, along with a flash of light in the air. "Focus your energy on one point, then shoot it out."

"What? But… that's not possible!" exclaimed Ginta.

"MÄR-Heaven was not possible to us, until yesterday. What I wanted to say, after all of this time, is that someone in _this_ world also knows about MÄR-Heaven. His name is Fubuki Miura. He will build an interdimensional laser to open a rift to MÄR-Heaven. If you do find him, I ask you to try and stop them."

"…Anything else I should know?" asked Ginta.

"Yes. Don't let him touch you with his bare skin."

"Huh?"

"Fubuki is a psychic. In his _territory_, he can break anything he touches, at any scale imaginable."

"Humph. Thanks for warning me. Now I _know_ that I'm screwed. Why is it that, in this world, I never get the confidence that I need?"

* * *

><p>Fubuki Miura sat on his bed in his room, thinking about the past. "<em>Together we will unite our worlds,<em>" he said. That person was almost like a doppelganger to him – heck, he even dressed in almost the same way. Just a few weeks ago, he met this man in a dream.

"_Who are you?_"

"_Call me Nil. I am like… your alter ego._" Inside Miura's dream, both of them stood face to face with each other. "_I see your world with your eyes. Likewise, you will see mine with my eyes._"

"_That's impossible! Other worlds don't exist! You're just a figment of my imagination!_"

Nil laughed. "_Oh? But a few years ago you said that ghosts and demons were unreal, too. Now you even have psychic abilities. So what is stopping you from believing in me?_"

"_I don't trust you._"

"_Of course not. This is the first time we meet in person. But you must admit that you have seen my world in my perspective, correct?_"

Miura grew uneasy. "_Such a fairy-tale land is too good to be true._"

"_Is it? I'll let you decide. I'll give you a week to answer me. But in the meantime… you have your life to live. A pointless, limited life confined in a cage. Alas, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me. Of course, we both must be asleep in order to communicate. Keep that in mind._" And with that, Miura woke up from his dream.

During that week, he found every book he could on multiple dimensions. He even snuck into the library of the Spirit World – not accessible to most humans. Different realities _did_ exist – in fact, most of them are even documented. However, MÄR-Heaven was one of them that was nearly forgotten due to an unknown reason. Because of this, its legacy is transcribed into a mere fairy tale for children of the celestial world to read.

One of the chapters of _Common Worlds_, the book Miura was reading, was about the way energy can be converted to cut through the dimensional boundary. There are humans who can naturally perform such feats with their own _Reiki_, but no human is capable to produce such an amount of energy necessary to get as far as MÄR-Heaven.

Nevertheless, Fubuki Miura, the molecular physics whiz, knew that by splitting an atom, one can obtain a surge of energy. Yet such tasks were expensive, and he could not dream to afford this. Of course, this is where his psychic powers come in. After hours on end of experimenting, Miura realized that he can break anything at a _molecular_ level, and maybe even beyond that. All he needed was a safe way to perform the task; but that was a trivial matter.

Knowing his new mission, Miura met Nil again in a dream, this time confirming his new belief in his imagination.


	5. Save Koyuki!

A/N: At this point, OC submissions are accepted, now that the story is developing.

* * *

><p>"Bye, Ginta! I'm going to buy some groceries," Koyuki said as she walked out the door.<p>

"'Kay, take care."

Ginta leaned back on the couch. _Heh, after all these years, to think that MÄR-Heaven would be mentioned again in my life… brings back memories. But it's in danger, and now it comes from this world. So there are people on this world who can beckon magic power. Six million people on Earth and I am among the few that met the lord of the Spirit World. I, Toramizu Ginta, am a lucky guy!_ He made a big grin.

_Now, what to do for the next hour…_ Turning on the television, Ginta saw the news about the building demolition. _These people have no idea what's going on. How come no one ever tries to make things right?_

He looked at his homework. _Meh. Calculus. I can do this later._

He looked at the sink, which was piled with dishes. _I'm not gonna even bother…_

He looked at the bookshelf, which was filled with fairy tales written by various authors, including his own mother. _Dad used to read these for me…_ _Now that I think about it, what is he doing right now, anyways? Maybe I should call him…_

As he picked up the phone, an unknown caller showed up on the display screen. Ginta answered the phone. "Hello?"

The voice on the other side was that of a young man. "Hello? Is this Toramizu Ginta?"

"Yeah," said Ginta. "What do you need?"

"You know the two demolition sites? I want you to meet me at the one that's the closest to your house in thirty minutes. Hey, I don't even know you. It's this _guest_ here who requests you."

"Why would I do that? Who are you?"

"Rin Yuu. Call me Yuu if you want. Remember the name well. Besides, it doesn't seem like you have anything to do right now," he said.

"Explain yourself," said Ginta.

"There's nothing to explain. Well, except for this fine young lady that I found here…" Through the phone, Ginta could hear the screams of a girl. "She's got beautiful blue hair… it would be a shame if it turned red… or brown, for that matter, because the oxygen in blood is lost when-"

"KOYUKI! What have you done with her?" screamed Ginta.

Yuu sighed. "Well, she stumbled into us. You can say… she just _walked_ into it." Suddenly, the screaming stopped.

"KOYUKI!"

"Don't worry, she's not hurt. We just contained her because my ears are ringing… god, how do you live with this loud woman-" Ginta immediately hung up and dashed out of the door.

Yuu lowered his head. "Well, Sho, he's coming."

"Great. Better hope he gets here fast. This girl is wearing down my _Reiki_ like crazy." _Tetsuya Sho; Ability: Flash Freeze_. "Although, seeing this girl submerged in a mountain of ice makes me think of something… I just can't quite pinpoint it."

* * *

><p>The University of Tokyo possesses a vast and beautiful campus. Behind the outer layer of splendor are state-of-the-art lecture halls for the professors to teach. Well, technically not all of them are professors, for there is a rarity among the campus staff.<p>

One person in particular has been discreetly granted special permission to teach. This man's ability in his field of specialty is unable to be measured by any person alive.

"Minamino-sensei, when is the next assignment due again?"

The red-haired teacher replied, "Four days from now. If you need any assistance, feel free to visit my office." He stood up and watched as his students filed out of the room. In every corner of the room, there were different species of exotic plants. Some of them were kept behind glass boxes to ensure that no physical contact is reached.

One person walked into the room. "Heh, Kurama, you've really stepped up the ladder now."

Kurama glared at him. "And who gave you permission to use a host body?"

A tangible yet liquid form sprouted out of the man's ears and mouth. Surprisingly, it formed a face and two arms. "Nah, I don't need permission from nobody. Besides, I didn't hurt him or anything, I didn't smoke, I didn't drink, and of course I didn't-" Kurama pinned him to the wall.

"Why are you here?"

"Well, uh-" *choke* "-there's a man-" *splutter* "-who – who broke a lock, just by touching it! No crazy incantation, nothing! Just one touch – and _boom_." Kurama released the parasite. _Could he be?_

"Take me to him."

The parasite led Kurama to the Molecular Physics lecture room. "This is it."

Inside, a man in a white suit caught sight of Kurama. He smiled and bowed.

"Well, if it isn't Kurama – I mean Minamino Shuichi!" Fubuki looked around and saw people listen to them. Kurama glared at him, but he kept smiling.

"What are you doing at Tokyo U.?"

"What do you mean? I've always been here. You're the new one, Minamino."

Kurama walked forward. "Are you here under the same conditions as I am?"

"You can say that."

"I have plenty of questions for you to answer, and lucky for you, I prefer the diplomatic approach," said Kurama.

"Anyways, let's talk later. There are too many people here. How's lunch sound?"

"…You better show up."

* * *

><p>Ginta arrived at the demolition site's front entrance. The old building was replaced by a heavy glass-like fortress; the top seemed incomplete. The structure and surface almost blended in with the scenery; on top of that, people on the street seemed to be oblivious to it.<p>

_Damn, there's magic power everywhere here. There's also this strange, indescribable feeling here… like… this space… just clenches my body…_

The front entrance opened up. "Welcome to the Firing Zone, Ginta! I'm your host, Tetsuya Sho. Please, step inside."

"Is Koyuki with you?"

"Yeah, about that… well… come and see for yourself."

Ginta ran into the building, but slipped after five seconds. _Ice?_ There were patches of ice everywhere. The internal structure of the building seemed to be empty, probably still under construction.

In the middle of it all was a mountain of ice… and a girl trapped inside.

"Koyuki!"

Both Yuu and Sho stepped into view. "Hey, Ginta. First time we meet, eh?" said Yuu. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a black jacket.

"Like this place so far?" asked Sho. He wore a parka.

"Shut up!" Ginta dashed to Koyuki and punched the ice. Unfortunately, it _grabbed_ Ginta's arm. Blood dripped down to the floor.

"Hey, hey, let's not rush. Where's your manners? You're a guest here, so be polite. Try not to break anything. Besides, we don't even know anything about you. How did you see this building without my door?"

"Door? What door?" Ginta pulled out his arm. _These guys have insane magical power. They aren't the run-off-the-mill kidnappers._

"Hey, check it out, his _Reiki_ is going up," said Sho.

Yuu smiled. "Well, aren't you an interesting one?"

"Let Koyuki go!"

"Sorry, man, the boss ordered us to keep her. At least until we get rid of you," said Sho.

"Bastard!" Ginta charged at Sho. Suddenly, ice sprouted from the ground and trapped him, cutting his clothes.

"You survived? You're not an ordinary human," he exclaimed.

"Don't take this guy lightly," warned Yuu.

Ginta quickly broke out of his prison. "What the hell did you do?"

"Sorry, but in my _Territory_, I can freeze anything… even without water. Of course, there was water everywhere here, so that helped," said Sho.

"Is this some kind of ÄRM?"

"ÄRM? What's that? Do you know what that is, Yuu?"

"No… he must be so scared, he's sprouting nonsense." Yuu laughed. "And I thought that, for a second, he would be a threat to us. Sho, go ahead and kill him."

Ice sprouted from the ground again, this time aiming for Ginta's heart. This time, however, he punched the stream of ice and shattered it.

"I'm gonna save Koyuki, no matter what! I don't care who you guys are, but you guys are probably up to no good! But here's a question: do you work for Fubuki Miura?"

Both of the captors widened their eyes. "Miura? How does he know him?" asked Sho.

"Right. Now, second question: You are evidently trying to build a tower. What is it used for?"

Yuu laughed. "You would never understand, even in a million years!"

"Try me." Ginta stood up straight.

"This world is but among many others," said Sho. "Miura told us that there's another world of fairy tales out there, one that is remarkably better than ours. By building an interdimensional laser, we can all visit that world."

"World? What are you talking about?"

Yuu stared at Ginta. "MÄR-Heaven awaits us, Toramizu Ginta! And a dumb human like you will _definitely_ not get in our way!"


	6. The Surprise Hero

A/N: Read and review, then circulate! OC and idea submissions are accepted, too.

Common Worlds: Ch. 6

* * *

><p>Ginta stood in front of Yuu and Sho, astounded. "MÄR-Heaven? How do you guys know about that?"<p>

Sho laughed. "You're really an idiot, aren't you? Didn't you figure it out yet?"

"Apparently you know about a thing or two regarding our mission," said Yuu. "I suggest you start talking, or else this girl here will be torn to pieces."

"You – You bastard!" Ginta charged at Yuu, but he fell into a hole in the ground. No, it was not really a hole; it was a _door_. Another door on the _ceiling_ opened up, sending him straight into the ground.

Ginta shook off the pain and got up. Now, as he looked around the room, he realized that it was _full of doors_. Even those encased in ice, all of the doors emitted magic power. They were all the same color and the same size.

"Argh… what the hell was that?" Ginta pointed at Yuu, who laughed.

"I'm the _Gatekeeper_, Ginta! Within my _territory_, I can make doors go anywhere I want!"

"_Territory_?"

"Sho and I are psychics. Within our _territories_, formed by our souls, we can exert our powers. Sho's power lets him freeze, while I can manipulate doors. No matter what you do, you can't get us."

"Oh yeah?" Ginta charged once again at Yuu, but this time it was Yuu who jumped into a door. He appeared a few meters away, through another door that opened. "As long as I decide where I go, I can't be hit!" Suddenly, Ginta appeared in front of Sho. He gave a right jab directly in his face, causing Sho's blood to drip to the floor.

"Ahhh!" Sho screamed. Ice pillars rose from the ground and attempted to impale Ginta, but he dodged them all. "I've seen that move before; you can't get me with that."

Yuu popped out from the ground and kneed Ginta in the stomach. Ginta barely regained his posture, but he started laughing.

"What's so funny? This isn't the time to laugh! Didn't you forget about her?" Sho gestured to the frozen Koyuki, and then formed a large chunk of ice. He shot it at Ginta, but he barely budged. The ice cracked on his shoulder.

Ginta continued to laugh. "Ever… ever played Portal, Yuu?"

Yuu's face grew serious. "What do you mean?" He walked closer to Ginta.

"In that game, the player makes portals in a room to dodge obstacles and escape. I don't know where each door goes, but I have a feeling that it can't be far."

Yuu gritted his teeth. "So? What's your point?"

"I'm saying that I can take advantage of these doors," said Ginta. He made a big grin. "All this time you were bragging about them, how you can control where you go. But I bet that, once a destination is decided for a door, the decision is fixed. I followed all of your movements. Now I also know where each door goes." Ginta stepped into the door next to him, and appeared behind Yuu. He kicked Yuu on his back, knocking him back and far away from Sho.

_Heh, as an adult, my strength went up from the last time I fought against a guy like this._

"Sho! End this, and trap him too! Give him hell! I'm sick of this guy!" Yuu screamed as he got rid of the blood on his face.

At this moment, Sho conjured up more ice and spread them on Ginta's legs. It expanded and began to engulf his entire body.

_Damn… I need to exert magic power… but I can't concentrate!_

"Whew, this kid is on fire!" screamed Sho. "It's taking forever to get him!"

"Keep at it," said Yuu. "He can't exert his _Reiki_ forever."

Suddenly, every shard of ice in the room cracked open, except for the one encasing Koyuki. A black blur zoomed around, along with a deep gash on both psychics' body. They both screamed in pain.

The blur stopped, revealing a short boy in a black cloak. His black hair had streaks of white in it. Everything was normal about him except for the gazing eye on his forehead.

The boy looked at Sho and Yuu. He spat on the ground. "Pathetic. You captured a random girl on the street just to beat her boyfriend? At least _succeed _at doing it. I've seen _D-Class_ demons that had more dignity than you. You're all pitiful."

Ginta regained his balance. "Hey… who are you…?"

"Never mind that, human. Go save the girl first. The psychic's _territory_ has dissolved, so the ice should be fragile now."

Ginta thought for a moment. "You're not exactly human, are you?" He looked at the eye on the boy's forehead. "You don't seem like one. Your magic power is different from that of a human's."

_Magic power…? Is he referring to my _Yoki_? If so, then maybe this guy IS significant in this mess after all…_

"You're brighter than you look," said the boy.

Ginta walked over to Koyuki. "This again, huh?" He punched the ice, easily shattering it, releasing Koyuki. She fell down a long way… and right into Ginta. Their lips locked.

The cloaked boy looked away quickly, almost embarrassed to watch. About ten seconds later, he turned around to check and see if they were finished.

"Alright humans, go home," the boy said as he walked away towards the darkness.

"Wait!" said Ginta. "What's your name?"

"…Hiei."

"Thank you, Hiei."

"Humph." Hiei vanished into the shadows.

* * *

><p>Kurama sat across from Fubuki Miura, and on the table between them there were a few cups of tea. Fubuki was in a white suit, as usual, though albeit a different one with a slightly more dull color. Kurama wore a collared shirt with a tie; very formal and professional. They looked as if they were just regular people enjoying a cup of tea.<p>

However, Kurama was not in the mood for tea; rather, he wanted answers.

"Now, explain MÄR-Heaven to me again. I am interested in your story."

Fubuki began: "Before I tell you this, you have to understand the concept of multiple worlds. I'm sure you're aware of them?"

"I'm not as ignorant as you think," said Kurama.

"Very well. Our three worlds – the Human, Spirit, and Demon worlds – are essentially parts of a whole. It's like…" He gestured in the air, making a circle. "…pieces of an orange. Now, the peels of the orange become the boundary for us. It's technically impossible for us to physically breach the boundary. Beyond this are many other fruits, or worlds. They could be nearly identical, or they could also be completely different, in this case, such as MÄR-Heaven.

"Now, what I am trying to accomplish is this: create a ray that could nullify the effect of a part of the boundary for a short time. That would open a rift and lead to the void, or a space of nothingness."

"Then how are you going to find your destination?" Kurama questioned.

"Well, as you know, people leave traces of themselves and influence wherever they go."

"You don't mean-"

"That's right, Kura-I mean, Minamino. There have been people who have already travelled to MÄR-Heaven." Fubuki looked at Kurama intently.

"And who are these people?" asked Kurama.

"That much I cannot tell you. But it's easy to figure out, really."

"Fine. One more question – where are you getting these ideas? I doubt that the Spirit World books could describe it well enough, providing that you actually read them, and so far no one in this world has ever dreamed of this."

"Funny you should say _dream_." Fubuki sipped his tea. "His name is Nil. He is my MÄR-Heaven counterpart. Not everyone has one, you know."

"This Nil – isn't it possible that you're being manipulated by him?"

"Nonsense, Minamino. We share the same mind; he only wants to show me the perfect world that this place could never become."

"But what you are doing is really dangerous. By ripping a whole in the universe, you can cause massive waves of feedback energy. Compared to the tunnel to the Demon World, it's like an endless chasm as opposed to a child's hand-dug hole. No one would be able to fix this."

"…This world no longer matters to me anymore," said Fubuki. "Besides, once I'm there, I'll quickly find an ÄRM to fix it; there's bound to be one. If not, then, well, good bye Earth."

"Stop there. If this is all you can think of, then we cannot talk anymore. Don't be so quick to abandon this world. And know this – if you try anything else, I will kill you." With this, Kurama got up.

"I will look forward to that day. It was nice talking to you, Minamino." Fubuki smiled and waved.

_Two days left_, he thought. _Two days until I can finally visit there. Wait for me, MÄR-Heaven._


	7. Two Threats

A/N: I know that there are a lot of questions unanswered, but that's how I want it to be.

OC submissions are accepted.

Common Worlds: Ch. 7

Ginta: "_When reading Common Worlds, don't sit too close to the computer!_"

Yusuke: "…What?"

Ginta: "…nothing."

* * *

><p>Kuwabara walked along the sidewalk with an uneasy look on his face. Each time a crisis occurs, his stomach knots and he becomes suspicious of his environment.<p>

_Damn! Anyone of these guys can be psychics!_ He looked left and right at the people around him. _I hate it when stuff like this happens… why me? Why all the time me?_

He stumbled over a rock, and found himself on the ground. "Shit!" A tabby cat was standing in front of his face. It looked like a stray with no collar, but it was surprisingly in shape.

Kuwabara's face immediately changed. "Aww… what are you doing here?" He looked at the cat's neck. "No collar, eh? Did someone throw you away? That's a shame, but I'm sure you'll enjoy your new company." He was about to pick up the cat when it ran away from him. "Hey! Where are you going?" Kuwabara ran after the cat.

He followed it all the way to the street corner two blocks away. "Stop running away! Let me help you!" All of a sudden, his face twitched. He wanted to buckle over and cry. His legs were no longer functional. A man in a white suit picked up the cat. He saw Kuwabara and immediately took a bow. His smiling face was easy to recognize.

"Hello, Kuwabara Kazuma. You stumbled into my territory once again."

Kuwabara immediately regained his posture. "You! You're that Fubuki guy!"

Fubuki coughed. " 'That Fubuki guy'? Really, I am offended."

Kuwabara gritted his teeth. "Last time I was caught off guard, but now I'm ready! _Jigen-tou!_" He drew his _Rei_-sword and charged.

A nearby family screamed at the fight scene. A child pointed at Kuwabara and laughed, as if he was watching anime on the television. "Mommy, that guy thinks he's holding a sword."

"Hey, don't fight now! We're out in the public!" said Fubuki. But Kuwabara's sword narrowly missed his neck. A sizzle was heard in the air as the _Jigen-tou_ cut through space.

"Sigh… when will you learn, Kuwabara?" Fubuki grabbed the _Jigen-tou_. Instantly, it vaporized.

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Kuwabara. "Your hand shouldn't exist anymore!"

"Not so," said Fubuki. "Your _Jigen-tou_ is held by strands of _Reiki_ fibers. The pattern of the fibers acts like an algorithm, letting it do what it is made to do. I just broke the fibers before the effect occurs, that's all."

"Why you…" Kuwabara made another _Jigen-tou_. "Die!" He sliced at Fubuki once more. Again, he blocked it and dissolved it.

"Your will is not strong enough. These _Reiki_ fibers are fragile. Could you be afraid of me?"

"Don't look down at me!" Kuwabara punched Fubuki in the gut. He coughed and spat out blood. "What do ya have to say now, punk?"

Fubuki stood up, his posture straight. His smile turned into a sinister gaze. "Now you have agitated me. It's a shame that I have to kill you in front of all of these people," he said. He leaped at Kuwabara with a fist.

_Ahh! If he so much as grazes me, I'm finished!_ "_Jigen-tou!_" Kuwabara barely blocked Fubuki's punch. His sword shattered, but Fubuki's hand started bleeding, his knuckles torn.

"Why you little…" He propped his hand onto the wall of a nearby building. "Die!" The coffee shop started to crumble, but it did not fall down. "What? What's going on?" Fubuki looked at his bleeding hand. "I don't even have enough power to collapse a damn coffee shop…" He swung his arm at Kuwabara. Droplets of blood flew at him.

"What?" Kuwabara dodged the droplets of blood. He saw them hit the concrete, which slightly cracked. "No way! Even your blood?"

Fubuki sighed. "I spent too much _Reiki_ breaking your swords. But know this, Kuwabara Kazuma: The laser will fire in two days. When it does, I expect you to _not_ show up." He took out a cell phone and dialed a number.

"Huh?" asked Kuwabara. "Two days? What the hell are you saying!"

"Yuu, take me back." A door appeared under Fubuki's feet and opened, sending him away. The door immediately disappeared after.

_Damn! He got away again._

* * *

><p>Koenma showed up at Ginta's house once again. Koyuki was sleeping on the couch with many towels wrapped around her. Next to her was a cup of hot water.<p>

Koenma sat across from Ginta. "I heard that she was kidnapped by psychics," he said. "Now you know how dangerous they are."

Ginta looked at him. "They're not that strong. I was just unfamiliar with their powers."

"That's the specialty of a psychic. You never know what their powers can be. It's their one advantage. By the way, how did you get out of there anyway?"

Ginta looked at the ceiling. "A guy helped me out," he said.

Koenma raised an eyebrow. "Someone helped you out?"

"Yeah. He didn't look very old. He had a black cloak on. Everything on him was black except for his skin and his sword."

_Could it be?_ "Did he have an eye on his forehead?" asked Koenma.

Ginta looked at him. "Yeah! It was glowing, too. I didn't know that people like him existed."

That got Koenma's attention. "Do you know his name?"

"It was Hiei," he said.

_Bingo._ "Well done, Ginta. You are really lucky. You're the sixth human in the Human World to ever meet Hiei and remember him."

"Wait, he's not human?"

"Hiei is a _demon_ from the Demon World. What he would want to do here is beyond me, however. Despite his appearance, he is much older than you, and has a cold personality. As an ally, he is very valuable."

Ginta thought for a moment. "That guy was pretty nice. It looked as if he just needed a few more friends, that's all."

"So far he has two friends," said Koenma, "and both of them are part of the crisis at hand. That's what I'm here for this time; I have a mission for you."

"A mission?"

"You can choose to not accept it. But we need the help of people like you. With the exception of your father, you are the only one on our side who has any knowledge about MÄR-Heaven."

"There's not much to know," said Ginta.

"In any case, will you assist us in our battle against Fubuki Miura?"

Ginta thought for a moment. He looked at Koyuki. "If it means that I have to protect both worlds, then yes."

Koenma took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Very well. These are the directions to get into the Spirit World. At some point, I may call you over."

Suddenly, Koyuki woke up. "Ginta…? I dreamt about MÄR-Heaven again!"

"What?"

Koenma looked at her. "Good evening, ma'am. My name is Koenma. I think we met before?" Koenma raised his hand as a greeting.

"Yeah," said Koyuki. "Hey, is that a pacifier?"

Koenma frowned. "So?"

Koyuki laughed. "Are you cosplaying as a baby?"

"No."

"Anyways, I had a nightmare about MÄR-Heaven. I saw it through Snow's eyes."

Koenma looked confused. "MÄR-Heaven? Dream? What do you mean?"

"Koyuki's counterpart, Princess Snow of Lestava, shares her perspective with Koyuki sometimes," explained Ginta. "However, this hasn't happened for years."

Koenma thought for a moment. "Lestava is the largest city, right?" He remembered the name in the book.

"Yeah. So Koyuki, what did you see?"

"Alan warned Snow about something that Kaldea was building," she said. "A giant ÄRM. Apparently they're trying to open a portal to our world, and that thing will shoot a laser to do it."

Koenma shot up. "They're building a laser too! This is bad!"

"Why? Are we building a laser too?" asked Koyuki.

"Not us. Someone else. Now, if both lasers hit…" Koenma took out a sheet of paper and a pen, and he wrote down a bunch of seemingly-meaningless equations. "If two small lasers meet, you usually see a lot of energy sprouting out, right?"

"Right…"

"Now, imagine that with two lasers that can rip holes in the dimensional-boundary." Koenma flipped the paper and drew a picture. There were two circles and two lines coming out of them.

"Once the energy starts to collide," he pointed at the intersecting lines, "there will be a feedback reaction." He drew more lines coming out of the intersecting point. "An earlier case occurred at a much smaller scale between this world and the Demon World. They started to come together. Now, imagine, once again, that MÄR-Heaven and this world are affected. Both worlds will magnetize, merging random aspects. Soon, the massive energy flux will overload and everything, I mean _everything_, will fall apart!"

"So all we need to do is to stop one of them," said Ginta.

"Incorrect. If one of them opens the rift, there will be the same effect, only at a slower pace. The energy from the laser would feed the hole, making it bigger. The worst case scenerio is that both worlds might not bind together, but they will be jettisoned into oblivion through the hole! See, that's why there are methods devised for this kind of travel."

"Woah, woah," said Ginta. "This stuff has been done before?"

Koenma sighed. "I did some further research. Apparently, my predecessors were the ones who created the new boundary. The old one was merely a gate that enabled others to come to this world. Of course, humans were not developed yet in terms of intelligence, and the Human/Demon/Spirit Worlds did not split. Security gets tighter each century."

"How are we to inform the others in MÄR-Heaven about this?" asked Ginta.

"I'm sorry," said Koenma. "It's up to your friends on the other side now. All we can do is to stop Fubuki."

"Wait," said Koyuki. "Alviss learned of this development. Apparently he's not happy with it either. He mentioned to Alan that he will find Dorothy and let her know."

_Alviss? Dorothy?_ Thought Koenma. _What kind of world is this? It sounds like something out of a children's storybook._

"I'm sure that once Alviss is involved, things will be alright," said Ginta.

"Very well," said Koenma. "Then I leave you here for now."

* * *

><p>Alviss quickly travelled to Dorothy's place. "Andarta! Take me to Dorothy in Kaldea!" His ring responded, and he immediately teleported to supposedly the sorcerers' city.<p>

What he saw, however, was only disaster. And definitely _not_ Kaldea. Everything around him was covered by a clear substance, even the corpses on the ground.

"Sorry, Kaldea is under lockdown," said a nearby female voice.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Alviss shouted.

A woman dressed in a gray-blue outfit walked into the light. "My name is Crystal. And you, Alviss, are not permitted to enter Kaldea anymore." She revealed a bracelet. "Nature ÄRM! Glass Incarceration!" The bracelet glowed, and a watery fluid surrounded Alviss.

"13 Totem Poles!" Alviss summoned multiple giant totem poles from the ground to protect him from the fluid, but each pole was bypassed. The fluid became vine-like wrapped around Alviss' body. It hardened to resemble glass.

"If you try to break out, the glass will only reform and kill you," said Crystal. "Guardian ÄRM, Stained-Glass Tiger!" Fluid in the shape of a tiger appeared, with bright colors resembling the fur of a real tiger. The tiger growled. "She will keep watch of you while the masterpiece is complete."


	8. One Day Left

Common Worlds: Ch. 8

* * *

><p>Yusuke, Kuwabara and Koenma followed Koenma to an unfamiliar house.<p>

"I heard from the old hag back in the Spirit World," said Yusuke, "about MÄR-Heaven. Apparently it's some kind of fairy-tale land. Who would want to go there?"

"Fubuki must have greater intentions," said Kurama.

Koenma turned around and stopped walking. Everyone followed suit. "I have some good news and some bad news," he said. "The good news is that I've taken you guys to a man who is familiar with MÄR-Heaven."

"That's impossible! It's supposed to be another dimension!" exclaimed Kuwabara.

"Not so. This man and his father had once been called to MÄR-Heaven many years ago, using their technology. Apparently they are more advanced in terms of knowledge of the universe."

"And the bad news?" asked Kurama.

"Well, you'll find out." Koenma rang the doorbell. The white door opened, followed by a man with yellow hair.

"Koenma. So these are the guys you are talking about?"

"Yeah. Ginta, this is Urameshi Yusuke, Kuwabara Kazuma, and Minamino Shuichi. The one with the red hair's real name is actually Kurama; the former is just an alias." Koenma gestured to the gang.

"Hello," said Ginta. "I am Toramizu Ginta."

"Yo," said Yusuke.

"Please come in."

Everyone was seated into the living room. Koyuki came in with a pot of tea and some cups. "Hi! My name is Koyuki."

"Don't be fooled by their appearances; these people are actually well-versed with knowledge of the spirit," said Koenma.

"I can tell," said Yusuke. He looked at Ginta. "Your _Reiki_ is flaming!"

Ginta understood him and replied, "Thanks. It took a while to get to this."

"Now," said Koenma, "direct your attention to the girl. Her dreams are connected to MÄR-Heaven; she will inform us of a new crisis."

"Alright," Koyuki began. She sat down. "Things in MÄR-Heaven are far worse than I thought it was. Someone is going to fire a laser to get into our world."

"Wait," said Kuwabara. "We got a guy doing the same thing. So now there are two of them?"

"That is irrelevant," said Koenma. "What _is_ important is that both worlds will eventually superimpose onto each other, causing destruction to no end, or worse, both worlds will cease to exist."

"Hold on!" shouted Kuwabara. "The laser's going to fire tomorrow!"

"Is the laser at the second construction site?" asked Ginta.

"That's the one."

"But they can't fire tomorrow… the building is barely two floors tall when I went there."

Kurama's attention was caught. "Did you say… two floors?"

"I'm sure that's what I saw."

Koenma looked at Kurama. "This is bad. He's even got a method to build the laser fast. Who knows how tall it will be tomorrow."

Yusuke thought for a moment. "Well, last time, when we went there, we saw nothing being built. Ginta got there two days ago and saw two floors, plus they were occupied. This means that it's getting higher at a much faster rate."

"Then it's decided," said Koenma. "All of you, with the exception of Koyuki, will go and stop Fubuki and the other rogue psychics."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" said Ginta. "I have no ÄRMs. How do I fight?"

"What's an ÄRM?" asked Yusuke.

"They are magical tools that allow a user to channel their own magic power, or what you call _Reiki_, into them, to be utilized for all kinds of purposes."

"You won't have to fight," said Koenma. "You will be the one to infiltrate the top of the building and power down the laser."

"I'll protect you," said Kurama.

"Good. Yusuke and Kuwabara, you guys can fight yourselves silly in the lower levels."

"Alright! I'm gonna get you for last time, Urameshi!"

Yusuke clenched his fists. "Let's go!"

"For your information," said Koenma, "Kurama and Yusuke are demons. Yusuke is part human."

"I thought so," said Ginta. "They had the same wavelength as Hiei."

"Hey! You saw Hiei?" shouted Yusuke. He stood up.

"Yeah. He was a nice guy."

"Nice? He didn't try to chop you to pieces?" asked Kuwabara.

"Huh? No…"

"It's settled. Everyone, go home. Tomorrow at 8:30, we'll meet at the laser site on the front face of the building," said Koenma. "It's about time I get hands-on, too."

* * *

><p>Crystal examined the ring in her hand closely. "So this is what Andarta looks like."<p>

"Give it back… you bitch…" Alviss was almost choked by the glass filaments.

"Aww, what was that? Without your little pixie to bail you out, what can you do against me?"

"Grr… 13 Totem Poles!" A giant metal totem pole popped out of the ground, breaking the glass. However, it reverted to a fluid substance and chased after the freed Alviss.

"Get lost!" More totem poles showed up, attempting to his Crystal. However, she dashes away in the air on her fluid glass. The Stained Glass Tiger then pounced on Alviss, but a totem pole shattered it.

"Ah, you're too powerful! This isn't good," said Crystal.

Alviss rode on top of a totem pole, smashing any glass that got in his way.

"Weapon ÄRM: Glass Spear!" Crystal diminished the fluid, and instead called upon a clear and long spear. "Die, Alviss!"

"13 Totem Poles, Weapon Version!" The giant totem poles disappeared, and a smaller handheld one appeared in Alviss' hand. He barely blocked Crystal's strikes, but one made it through and cut his shoulder.

"Argh!"

"Nature ÄRM! Glass Incarceration!" Crystal trapped Alviss once more, making his 13 Totem Poles dissolve.

"I'm going to take you to Master Nil himself," she said. Suddenly, there was a piercing sound in the air.

"Electric Eye!" a male voice screamed. After a flash of light, followed by lightning, all of the glass was shattered. "A girl like you shouldn't be playing with dangerous toys like this," he said.

The man had blond hair and was wearing a red shirt. His eyes were covered by a bandanna.

"Nanashi!" Alviss shouted.

"I got your back, Alviss," said Nanashi. "Electric Eye!" He conjured another bolt of lightning with his hands and two rings that resembled eyeballs.

"This girl's ÄRMs are tougher than usual," he said. "Her magic power's not that great, but her ÄRM is making up for it. She seems to have some sort of pre-reserved energy."

"You're no fun," said Crystal. "Two against one isn't fair!"

"And those ridiculous ÄRMs aren't quite legit, am I right?"

Crystal withdrew her glass spear. "Nature ÄRM, Glass Incarceration!" Liquid glass appeared once again, this time following Nanashi. He shot a bolt of electricity to block it, but it did not conduct the shock to the user.

"That's not water."

"Careful Nanashi, that's liquid glass!" said Alviss. "13 Totem Poles!" A pole launched Crystal into the air.

"Electric Eye!" Nanashi sent a bolt of electricity into the air, which fell upon Crystal.

"Ahhh!" Her body was almost fully paralyzed from the shock.

"We still got it," said Nanashi.

"I'm leaving, guys. I'm not playing anymore." Crystal surfed away on her liquid glass. "Next time, I will kill you both!"

"Hey Nanashi," said Alviss.

"Yeah?"

"You've come a long way."

"How so?" asked Nanashi.

"You didn't try to hit on her," answered Alviss.

Nanashi stared at him for a few seconds. Then he screamed: "Ahh! In all of that excitement, I forgot about flirting!"

"Whatever, let's hurry up and find Dorothy…" said Alviss.

"What are you so hyped up about?"

"Someone is trying to get into Ginta's world. This time, he plans to fire a laser to make a hole, rather than using the Monban Piero."

"That's crazy talk! No one can do that."

"No _one_. I reckon he took over the Grand Elder of Kaldea, after speaking to him. The guy's name is _Nil_. Remember that."

Alviss and Nanashi ran into Kaldea, hoping to deliver the warning in time.


	9. The Final Day! Countdown of 36 Floors

A/N: If someone is wondering why the MÄR timeline is going so slow, it is because the MÄR timeline is much slower than the YYH timeline.

Common Worlds: Chapter 9

* * *

><p>For most people in Japan, this day was just an ordinary day. People got on with their lives. There were a few irregularities, as some people stared really hard at a construction site, almost as if there was a tall, black, and shiny building there. Then, of course, they would dismiss it as a figment of their own imagination.<p>

But for Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Ginta, there was no imagination going on. The building was _real_. It was pointed at the top, with maybe a small crystal suspended (who knows? No one could really see that far). They looked around and found themselves among tons of people who were oblivious to the colossal object that was sitting next to them, ready to end the world.

"Damn," said Kuwabara. "That's a long way up."

"It must be at least 30 floors," said Ginta.

"Who cares how tall it is, I say we just go and run up vertically with brute force. That should be the fastest way up," said Yusuke.

"There seems to be some sort of barrier on top. Looks like I can't fly up," said Kurama.

"Well, shall we?" said Ginta.

"Alright! Let's kick some ass!" Yusuke shouted. He ran up and kicked the door open. "Everyone knows his role, right?"

"I know that I'll be the one doing all the work." Kuwabara put up his fist. "Let's go, Urameshi!" He ran into the building with him.

"Well, Ginta, surprise me," said Kurama. He smiled and took out a rose, which immediately turned into a whip. "Follow me!"

Ginta nodded and ran in alongside Kurama.

Inside the building, there was ice everywhere once again. The elevator was blocked with a door sticking out.

"I know that door," said Ginta. "It's that Yuu-guy's power. He can make that go anywhere."

"Then let's take the stairs," said Kurama. They found the nearest staircase and began to run up.

Sho, with many bandages wrapped around his torso, leaped at them. "Oh no, you don't! You're not getting away this time!"

"Leave them," said Yuu, "and focus on these two idiots."

"Hey! Who're you calling idiots?" Kuwabara's _Rei-_Sword glowed brighter. He cleaved every pillar of ice that tried to get him. "'That all you got, wimp?"

A door opened under Kuwabara's legs. "What the-" He fell into the door… and right out of one on the ceiling. A block of ice met with his stomach, and he began coughing up blood.

"Hey…! That's cheating," said Kuwabara. Meanwhile, Yusuke was trapped in a loop, falling into one door on the ground and coming back out from the ceiling, and back into the first door again. "Yo, help me out here!"

"Grr… _Jigen-tou!_" Kuwabara changed his weapon into a more-refined sword, then hacked one of Yusuke's doors to pieces.

"Hey! Watch where you're swinging that thing!"

"Dammit, Urameshi, at least be grateful!"

"Well you can go and-"

Yuu watched them quarrel amongst themselves. _This is too easy. Who knew the strongest people on Earth were these idiots? And for a minute there I thought I was going to die._

"Hey Sho," he said.

"What?"

"End this."

"Cool." Sho raised both of his arms. Streams of liquid flowed around Yusuke and Kuwabara. When he clapped his hands together, the liquid became shards of ice and darted towards the two.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared from the center of the impact, and water droplets fell to the ground. Yusuke was in a horse-stance, holding his right fist.

"There, I've repaid the favor," said Yusuke.

Kuwabara turned his head. "Hey Yusuke, how about you take the guy on the right, and I'll take the guy on the left?"

"Be my guest," said Yusuke. "Hey you, get over here!" He charged at Yuu. However, Yuu quickly opened a door and walked in. Yusuke looked at the door and stepped in as well.

Sho turned his head back at his enemy. "Kuwabara, was it?" He smiled. "I think I'll have fun with you."

Kuwabara formed two _Rei_-swords. He spat on the ground. "Che. I'll finish you in a few seconds!" He leaped at Sho.

Meanwhile, Yusuke found himself in a different room that looked similar to the first floor, only there was a large, glowing pillar in the middle of the room. "The hell? Where am I?"

"We're on the fifth floor, if I remember correctly," said Yuu. "We skipped the stairs."

"What the fuck is that thing?" Yusuke pointed to the middle of the room.

"That's a power cell. It's used to charge the laser."

"Well, let me tell you how I care about it. _Rei-gun!_" Yusuke shot a beam of blue energy at the pillar, but it quickly dissipated.

"It's no use," said Yuu. "_Reiki_ and _Yoki_ are useless against it. If you try to punch it, you'll set off an explosion that will be greater than four-thousand times the force of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima."

Yusuke whistled. "And every floor has one of these? Damn, that's a lot of energy you got there."

"Not every floor. Only the third through the twentieth. You see, this building is just a giant laser. There's really no other purpose. And I'm not going to fight you. Instead, we'll chat like gentlemen."

"Gentlemen my ass!" Yusuke quickly dashed in front of Yuu's face and gave him a left jab.

"Argh." Yuu wiped off the stream of blood coming out of his mouth. "Not bad. It looks like we'll have to play cat-and-mouse instead." He quickly found another door and opened it. "Catch me if you can!"

"Hey! Get back here!" Yusuke followed him into the new door.

While Yusuke and Kuwabara were fighting, Kurama and Ginta reached the eleventh floor. They were able to hear the shouts of Yusuke in the lower floors, as he somehow climbed up. Each time Kurama came to a new level, he noticed a power cell in the middle of the room.

"This is tiring," said Ginta. "Is there a faster way to do this?"

"Sorry," said Kurama. "The slowest way is usually the safest."

"I have noticed something," said Ginta.

"Hmm?"

"Starting from the third floor, there's a power cell located in the middle of the room. It's almost as if they were all connected. So what if these floors are not actually part of a building, but just structural support for a massive laser? This whole building is the laser itself!"

"I thought of that," said Kurama. "It's possible, considering the energy needed to perform its duty. The laser in the Spirit World was a quarter of this size, and it could only reach the Human and Demon Worlds."

"Remember, someone in MÄR-Heaven is also building something like this. Knowing their technology, it would be like an ÄRM."

Kurama stopped for a moment. "We should hurry. Fubuki is going to fire any time now."

The power cell began to glow. "It's too late!"

"No," said Kurama. "If we get to the top fast enough, we can stop it. The laser is only charging right now. I reckon we have an hour left."

The two of them started climbing the stairs once more.

* * *

><p>"Kaldea is a mess," said Nanashi. There were screams everywhere, along with rogue Guardians. "Electric Eye!" Nanashi sent a jolt of lightning towards a group of Guardians, which disintegrated instantly.<p>

"Hurry up," said Alviss. "Dorothy is in that tower over there!"

"You go ahead," said Nanashi. "I'll protect these civilians."

Alviss ran ahead of Nanashi and entered a nearby building. Inside, he heard the sound of two people fighting.

"Zephiroth Broom!" A pink-haired girl swung a metal broomstick at her enemy, conjuring a massive gust of wind.

Her adversary stood in his place, with no sign of damage on his body. His snow-white hair matched his white suit.

"Not bad, Dorothy," he said.

"Nil!" shouted Alviss.

"Ah, Alviss. I didn't expect you. It's very rude to shout my name out like that."

"Alviss! You know this guy?" asked Dorothy.

"Yeah, he's the problem I came here about," said Alviss. "He kidnapped the Grand Elder and used a duplicate in an attempt to trick me. This guy has no morals."

"Don't insult me," said Nil. He held up his right hand, with a glowing ring. "Weapon ÄRM: Light Catcher." His ring called forth the handle of a blade with no hilt. A beam of light shot out from the top, forming a sword of light.

He swung his sword. "Hundred-Luster Flare!" His sword broke into multiple beams of light and shot at both Dorothy and Alviss. They managed to dodge it, but each individual flare dealt calamitous damage.

"This guy's magic power is almost unlimited," said Dorothy. "He's been at it for almost an hour now, ever since he started attacking the civilians."

Nil's sword reformed. "You don't know the extent of my powers. Besides, the laser is almost finished anyways, so you'll never make it."

"Laser? What laser?" asked Dorothy.

"He's converting a tower here into a giant laser that will open a rift to Ginta's world," said Alviss.

"Ginta's world? Where is he going to get the energy necessary?"

Alviss thought for a moment. Finally, he said, "Belle. That bastard."

"That's right, Alviss," said Nil. "A fairy might be weak, but it's got a huge energy reserve. But don't get your hopes up; she's already in the power cell in the laser." He pointed out the window, to a metal building. The tip is glowing. "The laser will fire in a few hours. But I can't have people like you get in my way, can I?" He lifted his sword. "Hundred-Luster Flares!"

"13 Totem Poles!" Alviss summoned giant totem poles to safeguard him and Dorothy.

"I can't use a Guardian," said Dorothy, "so I really can't help much. I used up too much magic power."

"Just stay back for now," said Alviss. "I'll handle this from here."

"Oh, playing hero, are we?" Nil chuckled. He reformed his sword. "Come on."

Alviss shrunk his totem poles to become a melee weapon. He charged at Nil. Nil did the same, and they clashed in the middle of the room.

Meanwhile, the laser at the far end of the city shined with utmost brilliance, as MÄR-Heaven waited for its new future.

Somewhere on Earth, the same can be said for a sparkling light on top of a tower. Fubuki sat next to the laser tip and the controls. _One hour left_, thought Fubuki.


	10. Too Late! Arrival in MÄRHeaven

A/N: Share this with your friends!

Common Worlds: Ch. 10

* * *

><p>Yusuke grew exhausted with each step in the immense building, which turned out to be the frame of a giant laser ready to rip worlds apart. In each door he stepped into, he was transported to another door of an illogical location. From the nineteenth floor (or eighteenth? Seventeenth?), he was whisked to the second, then to the ninth, then to the thirteenth, and so on.<p>

Yuu breezed through the doors. He could do this all day. As long as he could distract Yusuke for another hour, the laser would fire. The trouble was, if he used up too much power, his _territory_ and doors will vanish. So he had an idea.

"Hey Urameshi," said Yuu. "Why don't we check on Kuwabara down there?" He chose a door and opened it.

"Why you little-" Yusuke immediately jumped into the opened door in an attempt to chase Yuu. However, he found himself at the first floor. An injured Kuwabara stood on the left side, with a blazing _Rei-sword_ in his right hand. Across from him, Sho stood, uninjured.

"Let's end this, little monkey…" Sho pointed at Kuwabara and squeezed the air, almost as if he was choking the air. Ice particles began to form around Kuwabara's neck, before forming a collar shape and squeezed his neck.

"Kuwabara!" Yusuke shouted. He dashed to Kuwabara and ripped off the ice. Kuwabara gasped for air.

"That won't do," said Sho. "Yuu, why did you lead him back here? I was having fun by myself."

"Damn it, Sho, you don't think I was getting tired running around like that?"

"You're useless here, just go away," said Sho.

"Fine." Yuu chose a door. "I'm gonna go to Fubuki." He walked into the door.

"Hey!" Yusuke ran after him, but realized that the door was locked.

"What are you doing? You're fighting me," said Sho. He formed a sharp projectile and shot it at Yusuke.

"Screw you!" Yusuke pointed his right index finger at him. "_Rei-gun!_" He shot a burst of blue energy. It annihilated the icicle spear.

Kuwabara took this chance to attack Sho, as well. Sho formed a shield and blocked Kuwabara's attack, but barely shielded himself from the _Rei-gun_. It barely missed his wounded area.

_Damn, I'm too wounded to fight,_ thought Sho. _But only forty more minutes until I can go up._

"What's wrong? Was that too much?" Yusuke sneered.

Sho spat on the ground. He took off his ripped jacket, revealing a white T-shirt. "You can go to hell."

Pillars of ice formed from every angle of the room. They began to fall apart.

"Ice Prison!" Sho clasped his hand. Every fragment of ice in the room shot at Yusuke and Kuwabara.

* * *

><p>Kurama and Ginta made it to the twenty-first floor. "There are different devices now," said Kurama. "This must be the internal working of the laser."<p>

"Can't we take apart the laser from here?" asked Ginta.

"No, because with one false move, the energy below will detonate, and whole _planets_ may be destroyed."

"So we have to keep moving?"

"Correct. The control room is on the top floor, probably. My goal is to destroy the controls. This way, we can let the energy erode throughout the years, as it is hidden from human eyes. Then, we'll set up a Kakai Barrier to block out the demons who want it. Twenty minutes left," said Kurama.

They ran to the twenty-fifth floor, but found Yuu standing in the corner of the room.

"Well now, what do we have here?" said Yuu.

"Don't bother attacking," said Kurama. "You're no threat to us." He took a rose out of his hair.

"I'm not here to stop you. I've spoken to Fubuki; he says that we're ahead of schedule."

"_What?_" Kurama was shocked. _That's impossible!_

"The laser will fire in a few minutes. Have fun!" Yuu walked into a door.

"Hurry," said Kurama. He ran at full speed, but found that Ginta could not catch up. "I'll carry you."

"Alright." Kurama carried Ginta to the twenty-eighth floor. "This must be the Driver Room," said Kurama. From after the power cell levels, a pillar covered the internal workings in the center of each room. Now, however, there was a giant clear crystal suspended by two metal pillars.

"This is a diamond from the Demon World," said Kurama. "No diamonds on Earth are this size and accessible. I suspect that there's also more upstairs."

"This guy must be pretty desperate," said Ginta. "MÄR-Heaven is a great place, but it's not worth ripping another world apart just to go there!"

"We need to move on," said Kurama. He carried Ginta up to the thirty-fifth floor.

"This is the cable room. It's also where I leave you. You've done well enough; go to the cables and deal as much damage as you can." He gave Ginta an elongated blade of grass. "Here. Good luck, Toramizu Ginta."

"I can't let you go alone!"

"You are powerless against him. I'm sure you have abilities of your own, but right now you can't use them."

"The world's going to fall apart anyways. If there's going to be a fight, I want to be in it too."

Kurama sighed. "Are you sure, human?" He never used that word like that before.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Very well. Then let's go." Kurama took out his rose-whip and slashed at the wires, but there was too many of them to cut. Instead, he and Ginta walked up the stairs.

On the last floor, there was no diamond in the room. No power cell. In fact, the middle of the room was once again covered by a metal tube. Kurama and Ginta walked around it and found a staircase to the roof.

When Kurama opened the door, he felt a strong breeze. The roof was surprisingly empty, except for the crater in the center. Another diamond was inside it. Next to the crater, a man in a white suit looked into the distance.

"Fubuki," said Kurama.

"Stop the laser now!" shouted Ginta. "You can't give up on your home just to go to MÄR-Heaven!"

Fubuki turned his head to them. "I can't stop the laser," said Fubuki. "Once it starts, there's no termination. No control room. This was a one-way ticket, I'm afraid."

Ginta charged at Fubuki and punched him in the face. Fubuki recovered and expanded his _territory_.

"Don't make me kill you," he said.

Kurama took out a rose-whip. "Try me." Ginta backed away. Kurama swung his whip at him, cutting his arm. In turn, the top part of the whip broke in pieces.

Suddenly, a light flashed from the diamond. "It's time," said Fubuki. He dissolved his _territory_.

A pillar of light erupted from the crater, soaring to the heavens. Then, an explosion was heard, followed by the sound of shattered glass. The beam stabilized to become a zone of light.

Sho, Yuu, Yusuke and Kuwabara fought through a door. They immediately stopped fighting when they saw the light.

"Shit! We're too late!" exclaimed Yusuke.

"We can only stop the other laser from firing now!" said Kuwabara.

"You're welcome to follow us," said Fubuki. "Let's go." He stepped into the light and vanished. Sho and Yuu followed suit; their _territories_ were gone.

"What are we waiting for? We came this far," said Yusuke.

"MÄR-Heaven, here I come again," said Ginta. The four of them stepped into the light and found themselves in a floating position.

* * *

><p>Alviss missed Nil's head by an inch. On the other hand, he saw several strands of his own hair on the ground. The sizzling blade was moments from ending his life.<p>

"Not bad," said Nil. "I managed to miss that."

"Heh."

Dorothy looked out of the window. "Look! The laser from the other world has already been fired!" Sure enough, a beam of light fell upon MÄR-Heaven.

"Soon, our light will rise as well," said Nil. "Fear not, my dear, you will not be left out."

Alviss slashed at Nil with his totem pole, but he blocked it with the handle of his sword. He leapt back and swung it. "Hundred Luster Flare!" Many bolts of energy were shot at Alviss, but he dodged them all.

"Well done, Alviss," said Nil.

"Let's end this!"

"I don't think so. Besides, why fight me when you can go and meet your new friends?" Nil held up a ring. "Dimension ÄRM, Myriagon Gate." A door opened in the wall. "See you later."

"Hey!" Alviss tried to follow him, but the door would not open for him, and soon it vanished.

"Myriagon Gate? I've never heard of that," said Dorothy.

"I think our top priority is to meet these 'new friends', Dorothy. Where was that light coming from again?"

"It was somewhere in that forest region. Who do you think we're going to meet?" Dorothy gestured in that general direction. "Andarta!"


	11. Meeting With the Others

Common Worlds: Chapter 11

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the sky, a pillar of light landed onto the ground. No one knows where it came from, how it came to be, or whether or not that was even possible. Whatever the case, the people of MÄR-Heaven dismissed it as a hallucination.<p>

Inside the light, three people came out. They quickly followed the person in the middle and ran away. Four more followed, but they ended up at a different location.

"So this is MÄR-Heaven, right? I mean, we didn't end up in some other place, right?" asked Kuwabara. He looked nervous.

Ginta smelled the air. "Yeah. It looks different, but the smell is the same."

"Smell? What are you, a dog?" asked Yusuke.

Kuwabara grinned. "I feel so light here! It's like I'm invincible!"

"The gravity of MÄR-Heaven is slightly lower than Earth," said Ginta.

"Whatever the case, Fubuki is ahead of us. If we want to get them, we have to keep moving," said Kurama.

"But where are we?" asked Yusuke.

Ginta took a look around. "We're… in… the forest near Lestava! Look, the castle is right there!" He pointed to a huge white castle. "That's where Snow lives. I'm sure she's the queen by now, though…"

Kuwabara widened his eyes. "You know the _royalty_ here? Well why didn't you say so? Let's pay her a visit!"

Yusuke punched him. "Shut up! You just want to see the queen!"

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do…"

Suddenly, two people appeared behind a tree. Kurama became alert, and Yusuke turned his head towards them. Kuwabara bent his legs as if to fight. "Hey, we got company," said Yusuke.

The man with blue hair looked at them. "These people have insane magic power."

"Charge!" Kuwabara drew his _Rei-sword_. He cut down the tree like a hot knife in butter. A woman's voice screamed from the scene, and a man's voice shouted: "13 Totem Poles!"

Giant metal totem poles erupted from the ground. Kurama dodged most of them, and Yusuke knocked one of them into pieces. Ginta narrowly dodged them as well. Kuwabara, however, was not so lucky.

"Wahhhhhhhh!" Kuwabara was knocked into the air. "_Jigen-tou!_" As he landed, he drew his better sword and dived at the two strangers. His sword missed its target, but a searing burn appeared in thin air as the dimension split.

"Dorothy, watch out! That weapon can cut through dimensions!" exclaimed the blue-haired man.

"I got it from here, Alviss," said Dorothy.

Just then, Ginta walked up to the fighters. "Hey, stop!"

Kurama relaxed. "What is it?"

"These aren't enemies! They're my friends!"

Yusuke obviously did not pay attention. "_Ore, Rei-gun!_" He pointed his right index finger at the strangers and shot a beam of blue light. Alviss called back the 13 Totem Poles just in time and conjured a shield from nowhere. It barely blocked the light.

"What? It blocked my _Rei-gun?_"

"Yusuke, stop!" shouted Ginta.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Yusuke.

Dorothy looked at Ginta. "You… could it be… Ginta!" She leapt at Ginta and hugged him.

Alviss walked towards the crowd. "Wait, so you aren't the new enemies?"

"I think there's a misunderstanding," said Kurama. "The ones who fired the laser have already gotten away. We are from the other world, just like Ginta. We're here to find the one who started the laser."

"So it seems. But hey, long time no see, Ginta," said Alviss.

Ginta took a breath from Dorothy's bear-hug. "Yeah. You're wicked strong now, Alviss."

"True. We're adults now."

Yusuke picked at his ear. "Guys, shouldn't we go find Fubuki? I still haven't kicked his ass yet."

Kuwabara dissolved his sword and blushed. He offered his hand. "I'm Kuwabara Kazuma, Miss Dorothy…" He knelt at her side, almost proposing to her. Of course, she kicked him into oblivion.

"Ah! What's your problem?" she exclaimed.

"Before you go after the enemies, you must understand that there are also foes here in this world. It's best if you go to the castle, first," said Alviss.

"Alright," Kurama replied. "By the way, I'm Kurama. If you've sensed something different about me, it's because I'm a fox demon. The one with the curly hair is Kuwabara Kazuma, and the other one is Urameshi Yusuke."

"I'm Alviss, and this is Dorothy."

Dorothy held up a finger with a ring. "Well, let's go. Andarta! Send all of us to Lestava Castle!"

"What the fuck – this is a castle? It's a damn city in a city!" Kuwabara trembled in awe as he saw the palace gates.

"Lestava is the biggest kingdom in all of MÄR-Heaven; it's equivalent to the height of the British Empire," said Ginta.

"What's a British?" asked Dorothy.

"…long story," said Ginta.

* * *

><p>The palace gates opened, followed by guards escorting the group into the castle. Somewhere on the second floor, everyone was greeted by a tall, stout and tanned man.<p>

"My lord, it's Ginta!" He said.

"Hi Alan. Long time no see."

Kuwabara looked at the man. _This guy's _Reiki_ is monstrous,_ he thought. _ I hope I don't make him angry…_

Alan sensed Kuwabara's fear. "Who are you guys?"

Kurama took the role of introducing everyone.

"You come from a strange world, you know that? Now you're telling me that there are real demons in your world. Anyway, Snow's coming," said Alan.

Snow walked out of the throne room and met the crowd. "Hi everyone!"

"Huh? Koyuki?" Yusuke scratched his head. "When did you get here?"

"That's not Koyuki," explained Dorothy. "She is Koyuki's counterpart. Their minds are tied together."

"Oh, so that's how the dreams work," said Yusuke. "Cool. Do I have a counterpart?"

"Probably not."

"Damn."

Alan cleared his throat. "It's too late to prevent the laser on this side from firing, so let's try to destroy it."

"It's probably going off now," said Snow. "There's a stream of light coming from outside that's hitting the sky."

A light bulb went on in Kurama's head. "I know one of their intentions now."

"And what is that?" asked Alviss.

"One laser only grants a one-way passage. It's like pushing something into a vacuum. However, if two lasers were fired at each other, then the rift would be stabilized and people can go back and forth. It's not that Fubuki wants to get here, but another person wants to go to our world."

"That's Nil," said Dorothy.

"Sorry?"

"Nil is his name. He is extremely powerful. As for appearance, he always wears a fancy white suit, and his hair is snow-white."

"Sounds like our guy," said Yusuke. "They must be counterparts too. By the way, Fubuki Miura is also dangerous. Back home, there are human psychics who can create spaces called _territories_."

"What do these territories do, exactly?" asked Alan.

"Pretty much anything can happen, from restriction of speech to real-life video games. That's the power of a psychic – the element of surprise. Anything is possible. Within Fubuki's territory, he can choose to break anything – I mean _anything_ – even down to the last molecule, by touching it with his bare skin. That's how he fueled the laser; he caused an atom to explode," said Kurama. "Though how he lived is beyond me."

"And on Earth, we don't have those weapons like you." Yusuke pointed at Alviss' 13 Totem Pole. "What were they called again? ÄRMs?"

"So far, there are three enemies we know of: Fubuki Miura, Nil, and a girl named Crystal. She works for Nil," said Alviss. "Nanashi is fighting her henchmen."

"There are two more, Sho and Yuu. Both of them are psychics," said Kuwabara. "Sho can freeze things and Yuu opens doors to anywhere he goes."

"Let's take this conversation to the War Room," said Alan.

"Good idea," said Snow.

The ground shook. "It's starting," said Kurama. "The worlds are being pulled together. We have about a month before everything ceases to exist."


	12. Dagger of Youth

Common Worlds: Chapter 12

* * *

><p>After learning about the crisis at hand, everyone decided to split up to act upon it. Some of the group would have to go back to Earth in order to chase some of Nil's forces. The laser on MÄR-Heaven's side connected the two worlds and are bringing them together due to a chain reaction.<p>

Meanwhile, fights have already erupted.

Nanashi had just defeated the last of the Guardians at Kaldea. Unfortunately, none of their users have been found. Crystal had already gotten away. However, there was one survivor of the attack who did not leave the city – a little boy was wandering about on the street, and his green outfit caught Nanashi's attention.

"Hey, kid!" he said. "You shouldn't be here anymore!"

The child ignored him. Nanashi approached him, but he just kept pacing around. Finally, he turned his head to Nanashi. "Hi."

" 'Hi'? Didn't you see those Guardians? Why are you still here?"

"What's your name?" asked the boy. He looked innocently into Nanashi's eyes.

"…Nanashi."

"Cool. My name is Peter. It's a shame, really."

"What are you talking about?" asked Nanashi.

"That a famous Team MÄR fighter was killed by a few Guardians who invaded Kaldea. Also, you failed to protect this city."

"What are you talking about? I'm standing right here!" exclaimed Nanashi.

"Of course, what I just said is what others are going to believe." Peter suddenly released an ÄRM from a ring; it transformed into a menacing dagger. "Remember my name as you die. I'm Peter the Ripper." The boy laughed and charged at Nanashi. He narrowly dodged the blade and jumped back.

"Good job. Had I not missed, your age would be reduced. This is my Weapon ÄRM – Dagger of Youth. It reduces your age according to the damage dealt. If I cut you enough times, you will be too young to fight. By the time you regress to an infant, your flesh would be ripped apart."

Nanashi stared at the child. "What the hell is wrong with you…"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with me. The thing is, I can't let you get back to your comrades."

"Oh, well that makes sense." Nanashi put his hands close to each other. "Electric Eye!" Electricity sprouted from Nanashi's hands and shot at Peter. However, he jumped out of the way.

"Ah, this sucks, I can't fight a kid!"

"I'm not a kid! I'm twelve years old!" Peter screamed.

Nanashi stared at him. "Really? You're only twelve?"

"Shut up!" Peter threw the dagger at Nanashi and scraped his face. The cut did not deal much damage, but for some reason, Nanashi's face seemed smoother. He quickly took out a hand-held mirror.

"Hey, I don't look that bad…"

"What the hell!" Peter was steaming. "What kind of guy carries a mirror with him?"

"You can have a tantrum all you want, kid."

"Argh! If only Nil gave me more ÄRMs to work with…" Peter kicked the dust.

"Hang on… did you say Nil?" Nanashi stopped checking himself out and turned around. "So you're one of them too…"

Peter smacked his own face. "You figure it out _now_…"

Nanashi's face returned to normal. "Ah, so it's not permanent. That's good. I was afraid that I might become a kid forever."

Peter smiled. "You recovered from a small cut like that and you are celebrating already? Next time it won't be so easy." He lunged at Nanashi again, but this time, the blade was stopped by a set of vines clinging from something in the air.

A man with long red hair jumped down from the sky, holding the plant. "This world has some strange people," he said.

Nanashi widened his eyes. "That's an interesting Nature ÄRM!"

"Hmm? This isn't an ÄRM."

"What? How can you manipulate plants without ÄRMs?" Nanashi scratched his head. "Oh, you must be from the other world!"

"I'm Kurama. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Nanashi. That psycho kid there is Peter. Watch out, that knife reduces your age!" Kurama was warned too late. Peter was released from the vines and stabbed Kurama in the stomach. Prior to bleeding, his clothes seemed to grow, or rather, he shrank.

"Kurama!"

"Don't worry, I'm not like you humans," said Kurama. He used a child's voice.

"Huh? Are you an elf?" asked Nanashi.

"No, I'm a fox demon trapped in a human body."

"That's cool."

"Nanashi," said Kurama, "Alan wants you to go north and find the other people. More of us are scattered around this world, trying to find the culprits. We must stop the laser within a month!"

"I got you," said Nanashi. "Andarta!" He vanished into thin air.

Peter laughed. "Then it's just me and you! I'm guessing you have about eight years of age left. That's gonna change!" He swiped Kurama in the stomach once again. Kurama was not familiar with the plants here and could not fight back; his rose was already used.

_Wait! If he can reduce my age, does it mean that…?_

"It's over!" Peter stabbed Kurama in the heart. However, before the blade actually reached the heart, it was pushed out by an invisible force.

"What?" Peter fell onto the ground. Kurama suddenly grew much taller, and his hair turned silver. Two ears popped out of his head.

"I see. So it does happen," said Kurama. "Thank you for bringing out my true form."

Peter was shaking. _His… magic… power…_ "I can still fight you! Your effects will wear off if I have no more power! I'll just use it up!" He held up his hand.

Kurama took out a leaf from his hair and put it in his mouth. Instantly, all of his wounds were gone. "Who said I was going to let you get away?"

"Ah! Help me, Andarta!" Peter activated the ring, but Kurama clutched his hand and squeezed it. Blood dripped to the floor, and Peter screamed. "Save me!"

"Then talk," said Kurama. His eyes glared daggers into Peter's. "Where is Nil?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie," said Kurama. He took out a blade of grass. "What does Nil want?"

"He… he wanted me to… to stop you…" At this point, Peter was crying.

"Stop us from what?"

"Nil wanted to show us a new world," said Peter. "He said that the laser would change everything. But to fuel it… we needed… a fairy… so we took… Alviss…"

"What does Alviss have to do with this?" asked Kurama. He tightened his grip.

"Alviss had a fairy named Belle! She was the only one within hundreds of miles from the laser! We easily snatched her and left, but Alviss wants her back! Thing is, if she's removed, the laser's power would be also removed!"

Kurama released him. Suddenly, his body changed. His ears were gone, and his hair reverted to red. He dropped the blade of grass. "I no longer need to fight you anymore. But tell Nil this: I will personally stop him. He has no idea what he got himself into, by connecting the worlds. We could do this the easy way or the hard way."

Peter nodded. "Andarta!" In a flash he was gone.

* * *

><p>Nil looked at Peter. "What's wrong?"<p>

Peter touched his bandaged arm. "This guy, Kurama, he's like, hundreds of years old, and he comes from the other world. He says that he will personally stop you, and he could do it the easy way or the hard way."

Nil smiled. "Let him have some fun too, kid. We can't always be winning. Otherwise it would get boring, and our objectives would be pointless."


	13. Pandora's Box

Common Worlds: Ch. 13

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the North, there was a vast field of assorted plants. There were melons, berries, leafed vegetables, almost anything one can imagine. On one side stood a massive beanstalk that pierced the heavens.<p>

Two man-sized wolves worked on the fields – the Rogelu brothers. Not very far away, a short man with whisker-like markings on his face stood in front of the entrance to his farm. He leaned on his shovel, which had two large, red stones attached to the handle. His clothes were dirty from work, and his hands were calloused from the constant handling of his shovel.

The man smiled with a wide grin. "There's no way I'm selling Dad's land."

Another person stood across from him, and he wore what seemed to be clothing that was not from this world. "And what if I say that… I will destroy your home?"

The one with the shovel stopped smiling. He stood up straight. "Don't tempt me."

"Now, Jack, understand me. Compared to what would happen to this place a few days later, you losing your farm would feel like a relief."

"What's that?" asked Jack.

The man laughed. "See that light over there?" He pointed to the ray of light that came from the ground. "That's a portal to the other world. You can go visit right now if you want. But in one month, that world would be closer than you think…"

Jack was ticked off. He lifted his shovel. "Talk straight."

"My name is Kazuki. And you…" he held up his bracelet, which had a cube attached to it, "…will not see daylight ever again, should you not surrender your land."

"What's my land have to do with you?" asked Jack. He stood alert.

"All of the evil emotions in the world will be directed upon you," said Kazuki, "if you don't surrender. There's no way you can run, so there's not much of an option."

"I can't understand a word you say!" shouted Jack.

Kazuki's bracelet glowed, and then he suddenly held up a medium-sized box with magic symbols were carved all over it. "Weapon ÄRM: Pandora's Box." The box opened, and a terrible energy fled from its confinement. "Embodiment of Despair: Notte! This is as far as you go, Jack!" A demonic creature manifested into the world, its eyes glaring daggers at Jack.

Jack raised his shovel and jammed it into the ground. "Earth Wave!" Seismic force scattered among the dark creature. "Seriously, answer my question!"

Notte shook off the rocks and lunged at Jack, but Jack narrowly dodged it and battered the creature with his shovel.

"Underneath your own two feet is a generator. The fairy is dying, and we need more power to charge the laser. Hundreds of years ago, sorcerers have buried power reserves all over the world in case of an emergency." Kazuki gave a maniacal laugh. "There is no way to escape now. You have two choices: surrender the land and run while you still can, or I can cripple you and force you to endure all of the Grief of Pandora's Box." His box glowed.

Jack smiled. He took his shovel and raised it. "I'll choose the third option. You can get the hell out!" He rolled under the demon, who missed a punch, and stabbed Kazuki in the stomach.

"Argh!" Kazuki spat out blood. "Embodiment of Hope: Elpis." The demon was replaced by a shining yellow light that basked its summoner's body. Kazuki immediately stood back up. "Not bad." He clapped his hands in applause. "It looks like I've underestimated you."

Jack turned his shovel back into a chain. "Get out!"

"Please. You think one hit was able to stop me?"

Jack ran up to Kazuki and gave him a barrage of punches. In the end, Kazuki was barely standing, but he called: "Elpis." After another burst of light, he was good as new again.

"Elpis, the light of Hope, can keep regenerating me as long as I have magic power. At this rate, you can never defeat me. You might as well hand over the deed to the land right now… before I burn it all down.

"Oh yeah?" Jack threw some beans onto the ground. "Grow, Earth Beans!" He planted his shovel into the ground, and out came the vines again.

"Notte!" Kazuki shouted. His box changed color into purple and black as the demon came out again. His claws were sharper this time, and his net size was much bigger.

"Notte, take him down!" The enlarged demon roared and grabbed the vines and began to tear it apart. When all of the vines were gone, Notte turned to Jack.

Suddenly, Notte experienced cracks all over his body. He began disintegrating as he returned to the box, which stopped glowing.

"Impossible! A trap on your plant attack?" Kazuki rotated his head furiously, looking for the answer. What he was looking for laid still in his hands: Pandora's Box stopped emitting light; tiny plants clung to the side of the box.

"What have you done?"

"Those are magic parasites," said Jack. He stuck a finger at Kazuki. "You're finished without your stupid box! Now get out!"

But Kazuki just laughed. "You're really a dumbass, aren't you?"

"What do you mean…"

Kazuki narrowed his eyes. "Embodiment of Anger: Ifris!" He channeled all of his energy into the box, burning the parasites. Kazuki's hands were losing their grips on the box, due to a lack of energy. What came out of the box was an orange-red light, which manifested into a colossal column of fire. Within the fire, a bird-like creature came out.

"Ifris! Lay waste to the land!"

_Crap,_ thought Jack. _I need to stop this thing!_

Summoning his shovel again, Jack threw some seeds onto the ground. He stabbed them with the shovel. "Grow, Earth Beans!" Gigantic vines sprouted from the ground and raced toward Kazuki.

Kazuki raised his right hand towards the vines, and Pandora's Box glowed brighter. "Ifris! End this nonsense!" A fire spirit rose from the box. It devoured the Earth Vines and quickly laid waste to the land. With three breaths from the demon, all of the vegetables were burnt. The Rogelu Brothers were replaced by two charred skeletons.

The shovel in Jack's hands dropped to the ground as he found himself surrounded by fire. "No…"

"That's the power of Pandora's Box. All of the grief and despair in this world, neatly packaged in a little box. Compared to this, your magic power is a drop of water next to a lake." Kazuki flicked a lock of his hair.

Jack's eyes widened. "My farm… my house… dad's land…" Tears welled up in his eyes. "You son of a bitch!" He got up and punched the box, only to crack his knuckles. He screamed with tears.

A fist met with Jack's stomach as he painfully buckled to the ground, followed by a kick in the same area. It interfered with Jack's breathing.

Kazuki put his hand on his own head. "Well, that was tiring. Lucky for you, I don't have the magic power needed to kill you. But I can say this… bye bye!" He hopped on top of Ifris, and appeared to float within the fire spirit. "See you later! Oh, and, I would run, because Nil is going to play clean up, and he's not going to be happy when he sees you. We start digging in twenty minutes." The fire spirit flew away.

Jack sunk to his knees. "No… no… damn you… damn you! My house… my wife… dad's vegetables… mom… Rogelu… everything… it's not fair! What did I do to deserve this?"

His shovel retracted to his wrist. Instead, his ring glowed purple. "Andarta… take me to Lestava…"

* * *

><p>Fubuki Miura stood at an outpost next to the dimensional laser. He could clearly see the glow of the power cell, which held Belle the fairy prisoner as her power was drained.<p>

"So whose bright idea was it to get energy from a fairy?"

Crystal, who was standing next to him, answered, "That would be Nil. He came up with every idea around here."

"This is a strange but beautiful place," said Fubuki. "Why do you guys want to get out of here? Building a laser takes lots of energy, not to mention maintaining it. I don't think that the fairy would last much longer."

"Fairies have huge reserves of energy," said Crystal. "It's just dormant and genetically locked within the body."

Fubuki understood this; back on Earth, this energy was described as hidden_ Reiki_. "Still, using a fairy seems cruel. Isn't there an alternative to this?"

Crystal laughed. "You have to give something in order to take something. That's the law of nature."

Both of them sensed a power coming closer to the outpost. "That would be Alviss," said Crystal. "I think that you should meet him."


	14. Deactivation

Common Worlds: Chapter 14

* * *

><p>Crystal saw Alviss coming towards the lookout tower she was on. Fubuki, by her side, also watched the blue-haired figure running towards the laser behind them. They both knew very well what his destination was: the power core. Inside, the fairy named Belle was locked within several magical enchantments, her hidden power drained bit by bit to maintain the laser that reached the other world. Meanwhile, a similar beam was directed upon this laser from the other world, and the two energies drew each other together, albeit slowly.<p>

Alviss had never met Fubuki before, but when he saw his snow-white hair and facial expression, he had a particular impression.

"You! Nil! Give me back Belle!" He pointed his finger at Fubuki.

Crystal laughed. "That's funny. Who were you talking to?"

Alviss opened his mouth to speak, but something crept up his spine. _That's not Nil! That's the one from the other world! I have to be careful, these guys can use magic without ÄRMs!_ He took two steps closer to the tower before feeling a strange sensation that embraced his entire body. His magic power went on fire. _What is this… space?_

"He must have felt my _territory_," said Fubuki. "Everyone's first time is like this… except for maybe that Kurama person. For some reason, he never wavered in my presence. Should we approach this Alviss person?"

"You do it," said Crystal. "Nil told me to watch you fight. He said that I could 'learn something'. As if I am not perfect already."

Fubuki smiled. He jumped down the tower and landed in front of Alviss. "The gravity around here is pretty low, isn't it?"

Alviss gritted his teeth. "I didn't come to fight. Just give back Belle!"

"Belle? Ah, you mean the fairy. I cannot do that; the laser must be kept up for a month. As said by Nil, something remarkable should happen."

"You have no idea what will happen, do you?"

"I would prefer this to be just the way it is – a surprise," said Fubuki. "But those accessories on your body – are those ÄRMs? I've always wanted to see one in action."

Alviss took out a chain of sorts. "You want to see it? Fine! 13 Totem Poles!" Giant totem poles appeared in front of the two fighters, and they split apart into individual figures. "Get him!" Alviss directed his weapon at Fubuki.

However, Fubuki did not step away. Instead, he raised his left arm. "Is this the best that you can do?" One totem pole reached his hand, but he managed to block it. Also, the totem pole shattered to pieces.

"What?" Alviss ordered the totem poles to return.

"You attacked hastily without knowing what my power is. Because of this, you failed to reach me."

_What did he do? Is it some sort of spell?_

"Is it a spell? No. And no, I did not read your mind." Fubuki noticed the expression on Alviss' face. "I am called a _psychic_. What you have stepped into is my _territory_. In a psychic's _territory_, the psychic has complete manipulation of a random power chosen before the psychic acquires his/her powers. This is the element of surprise – you have no idea what a psychic can do. The only restriction is that the power only works within the _territory._ Mine is fairly simple." Fubuki found a tree and placed his right hand on it. Instantly, the tree disintegrated into a pile of shredded wood.

"A power that let's you break things to the touch?" asked Alviss. "That's convenient. But what if you don't notice the attack? It's clear that you can only focus your power on certain parts of your body. Otherwise, your clothes would have been torn off already."

"You really are a sharp one," said Fubuki. "Again, the only person who can calculate this fast is Kurama."

"13 Totem Poles!" Alviss released his totem poles again, but this time they did not detach from one another. "Go!"

One pole erupted from the ground and was aimed at Fubuki, but he smashed it with his fist. Another one sprouted behind him and knocked him on his back, while sending him into the air. Fubuki choked on his own blood.

"So as long as you don't register the contact, you cannot use your power," said Alviss. "I guess that's a psychic's weakness, then – knowledge about their ability."

On top of the tower, Crystal buried her face in her hands. _This guy has no ÄRMs. No matter how tough he is, he will never get past Alviss. Oh well, maybe I should lend a hand… but I should watch this to the end._

Fubuki landed with a thud as dust gathered up on the ground. "Argh. Without an ÄRM, the only thing I can do is to defend…"

Crystal attempted to help Fubuki and jumped from the tower. However, she stopped to find a tall man dressed in a white shirt and jeans in front of him. This man held what seemed to be a sword of light; erratic energy sparked from the sword.

"I don't wanna hit a girl, but using people as energy is despicable! If I were you, I would release the fairy before I kick all of your asses!" he said.

"You… Kuwabara Kazuma!" said Fubuki.

Alviss looked up at him. "You're from the other world."

"Yeah, and this bitch was about to jump you before I came and saved you."

"Nevertheless, we should hurry. Belle's energy is sapped as we speak."

Kuwabara spat on the ground. "You go ahead. I've gotta take care of these two."

Fubuki got up and shook his shoulders. "He's all yours, Crystal. I'm done." He took out a mobile phone and dialed a number. "Yuu. Get me out of here, _fast_."

"You're not going anywhere!" Kuwabara leaped at Fubuki, but his legs were constricted by a strange liquid that solidified around his joints. "What the hell is this?" exclaimed Kuwabara.

A purple door opened up under Fubuki's feet. "Have fun, Crystal. It was nice meeting you."

"Shut up! You can't admit getting your ass kicked?" shouted Crystal.

Fubuki gave a quick smile and fell into the open door.

Meanwhile, Kuwabara kept smashing the strange liquid. "Is this… could it be… plastic?" Crystal smacked her own face. _How dumb can you get?_

"No! It's glass! You're a glass manipulator!" Shouted Kuwabara.

"That's right," said Crystal. "This is the simplest form of my Nature ÄRM. But here's a different version: Stained Glass Tiger!" Crystal took out a small chain with a glass tiger head on the tip. It flashed and materialized a blob of glass that looked strikingly similar to a tiger; its color was bright and resembled stained glass windows.

"He's as real as a tiger gets, if not even stronger," said Crystal.

"That's nothing for me! _Jigen-tou!_" Kuwabara changed the shape of his sword into a more refined figure.

_Hmm?_ Thought Crystal. _His magic power changed its wavelength, and it skyrocketed…_

Kuwabara sliced into the tiger before it could attack him. A sizzling sound filled the air, and the space around the tiger seemed distorted. Glass fragments attempted to rejoin their original body.

"Stained Glass guardians can regenerate! There's no way you can defeat it!" said Crystal. But what she saw was _definitely_ not what she expected: the glass pieces flew back to the body, but the distorted space caused them to bounce off into random directions. "What?"

"Ha! My _Jigen-tou_ cuts whole dimensions! I've fought with a giant cat before, and I know exactly what it does!"

"It doesn't matter! Fragments of the tiger can form miniature Stained Glass Tigers!"

The fragments flew toward each other, but failed to cohere. Instead, the glass melted into liquid.

"I've covered up every angle!" exclaimed Kuwabara. "A man doesn't make the same mistake twice!"

"A man doesn't look like you…" grumbled Crystal.

"What was that?" Kuwabara became irritated. "Now that the cat is gone, you can tell me about this place, and these weapons you guys use," he said.

_Damn, I only carried two ÄRMs with me,_ thought Crystal._ If only Nil didn't tell us to refrain from killing... then again, Kazuki kept his box because he got the demolition job. Why don't I get the good jobs?_

"Sorry. I've gotta run. Have fun with your first victory in MÄR-Heaven! My name is Crystal. Remember that."

"Hey!" shouted Kuwabara. "We're still fighting!"

Stained Glass Tiger returned to its accessory form. "I don't have any more ÄRMs left with me that I can fight with. Andarta!" Crystal's middle finger ring glowed purple, and she vanished from Kuwabara's sight.

"Damn!" Kuwabara turned to the laser, which began to diminish. "I wonder how that Alviss guy's doing?" He ran to the laser building.

* * *

><p>Alviss held a small figure in his hands. He was in a large room with a crystal in the center, pointing to an opening in the ceiling. The laser had stopped. Belle the fairy lay quietly asleep.<p>

Kuwabara panted as he approached Alviss. "So… she's okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for your help," said Alviss.

"No problem," said Kuwabara. "I have to save my own world, too, you know."

"Well, this is MÄR-Heaven. Enjoy your stay before you help your own world. But I advise you not to get too comfortable."

"Yeah. I'm Kuwabara Kazuma. You're Alviss, right?"

"That's correct. I'm going to take Belle to Lestava to allow her to recover."

"Hey, I have this feeling…" Kuwabara trembled. "This is all too easy. It can't just all end _here._"

"_But of course._"

Both Alviss and Kuwabara turned around to see where the ominous voice came from. A white-haired man stood in front of them, holding a red jewel in his hands. "You've made it all the way here. That's not bad at all."

"You! Fubuki!" shouted Kuwabara.

"No, Kuwabara. That's Nil," said Alviss. "The one who started all of this."

"Alviss, you make me sound like a bad person."

"As if you're not. What's that you're holding?"

"Crystal didn't tell you guys? I'm not surprised. Well, this is going to get the laser up and running again."


	15. Reactivation

Common Worlds: Chapter 15

* * *

><p>"No! I'm not gonna let you fire the laser again!" shouted Kuwabara.<p>

"It's a pity," said Nil, "that I have to kill you both. You guys really made things interesting for me."

Alviss summoned his 13 Totem Poles in the form of a metal rod. "You're sick."

Nil walked over to the laser's console and placed the stone inside the cuticle where Belle, the fairy was held. "I guess this is the start of a new chapter?"

"No!" Alviss screamed. He ran to Nil and swung his 13 Totem Poles, but Nil turned around and drew his ring, which materialized into a tiny metal rod. A beam of light shot out and was suspended onto the pole, acting as a form of extension. The light blocked the 13 Totem Poles the same way that any physical object would.

All of this happened within the timeframe of a second.

"He's fast!" exclaimed Kuwabara. He looked at Nil's strange weapon. "Is that… a _light-saber_?"

"No, you fool," said Nil, "It's my Weapon ÄRM: Light Catcher. Unlike your fictional light-saber, my weapon is far more flexible. It's similar to your sword, Kuwabara Kazuma."

"Hey! How do you know my name?"

Nil pushed Alviss back, far away from him. Then, he swung his Light Catcher, and the beam of light somehow broke into pieces and flew at Alviss and Kuwabara.

"Like I said… _similar_," said Nil.

"Watch out!" Kuwabara drew his _Rei-Sword_ and blocked most of the blasts. One made it past his defense and collided with the wall behind them, creating a hole that was about two meters wide.

"This guy… he's insane!" said Kuwabara.

"You're… so… weak…" Nil spoke so quietly that it almost sounded like a whisper. Behind him, the laser made a harsh grinding sound. "Look! It's starting again. It's a shame that your efforts have been all a waste."

Kuwabara raised his sword. "Yeah? What I don't get is why you're standing there when you know that you've won. Aren't you gonna kill us or something?"

"Kill you?" Nil laughed. "That would make it too easy. If I destroy the worlds with ease, then what's the point? I did this just to feel the thrill, the pleasure, the sensation."

Alviss took a step forward, still carrying Belle in the palm of his hand. "As he said: you're sick."

"As if I care." Nil's Light Catcher re-extended into a saber. "There's no way you can stop the laser now; the stone is already integrated into the system."

"We still have a month," said Alviss. His voice resonated in the airy room. "Your plan has been delayed."

"You've bought yourselves time, but you're just delaying the inevitable," said Nil. "How about this – why don't you guys pledge your allegiance to me? I will give you sanctuary while the world burns; we can create the utopia mankind has always dreamt of, even across the vast worlds."

"No one has the power to avoid the damage this process will do," said Alviss. "How can you even fathom such an idea?"

"I have my methods…"

"Let's cut the crap!" shouted Kuwabara. His sword changed shape, into a smoother, sharper and longer glowing blade. "Me and my _Jigen-tou_, we'll rip you apart! And this time you won't block it!" He ran forward and swung at Nil, but the _Jigen-tou_ met with the Light Catcher.

"Haven't you learned anything? The Light Catcher is pure energy. There's no dimensional grasp on it." Nil's sleeve suddenly sizzled and ripped apart. "Though you split the space around your blade, you will never get past my ÄRM."

"I'm starting to think that these ÄRMs are overpowered," said Kuwabara.

"Relax," said Alviss. "Most ÄRMs are very weak and worthless. You've only seen the good ones."

Kuwabara stabbed at Nil, but his sword was knocked away. He quickly recovered and attacked over and over again, with Nil parrying each blow, and not counter-attacking at all.

"What's wrong, Nil?" asked Kuwabara. "Too much for you to handle?"

"Please, I've been paying attention to the laser the whole time. I barely noticed your attacks," said Kuwabara.

A loud shudder was made by the laser crystal before all movement suspended. Suddenly, a beam of light sprouted from the crystal in the center of the room. "There we go… it's restarted," said Nil. "I was afraid that some of my other comrades would not be able to cross."

" 'Some'? Then you are implying that there are those who entered the other world?" asked Alviss.

"That's correct."

"You do realize that you're making a big mistake, right?" Alviss stared at Nil in the eyes. "You're mixing the energy and matter from both worlds. There will be a flux of energy due to the imbalance; having these people here is enough, what else do you want?"

Nil looked up at the radiant glow of the laser. "I want a new world," he said. "Not the just the thrill of creating it, but a new world itself. Earth and MÄR-Heaven are both imperfect; one world is plagued by violence and war, while the other is ignorant of such. The greatest terrors of MÄR-Heaven cannot even compare with that of the other world. We are literally living in a fairy-tale, only known by celestial beings of other worlds. Even they have mere fragments of knowledge of our world. We're just a story. Because Earth was the closest world to us in relative dimension, it was influenced the most. That's why I chose their world for my grand experiment."

"That was a piss-poor speech," said Kuwabara.

Nil sighed. "I had hoped that you would understand."

"I understand that you are insane," said Alviss.

"Then leave. I don't want to bother with the likes of you." Nil turned his weapon back into a ring. "Leave while I still let you do so."

"That's exactly what I'll do," said Alviss. He prepared his Andarta.

Kuwabara walked up for an attack, but Alviss stopped him. "Stop. At your level, you wouldn't last five seconds with him if he fought seriously. We only saw one ÄRM from him. You need to be educated in the ways of this world; at the same time, you will tell me the techniques that is possessed by your world. We need everything we have to beat this man."

Nil smiled. "That sounds like a compliment."

"Grr… he's unarmed… I can take him now…" Kuwabara withdrew his _Jigen-tou_.

"Andarta! To Lestava Castle!" Alviss' ring glowed purple and whisked the two away.

* * *

><p>Kazuki, the wielder of Pandora's Box, gazed in admiration at his new discovery.<p>

"This will definitely be the new power source for the laser in the other world."

What he held was a metal ball not very big in volume, but of considerable size. The tip of the ball was attached to a chain, and that led to a hammer with a cross engraved on both sides. Four holes on each side marked the points of the crosses. The hammer was finished off with a pointed tip.

The most peculiar thing about this ball was that it had two eyes, a nose, and a big mouth. A large, black moustache stuck out of the face. The big mouth opened up:

"Hey! What did you say about using me as a power source? Are you really going to enslave a gentleman?"

"All you have to do is to sit there," said Kazuki, "and wait for the machine to take your power. Everything will be painless."

"Painless my ass! You've pulled my moustache twice today! If you're gonna capture me, at least do it with honor! You dumbass! Dick head…" the ball continued to curse, but Kazuki covered his mouth. "Nil and Fubuki had better be happy with this discovery… it's going to be a pain to get this over to the other side."

Kazuki ran towards the laser's light, but he was stopped by a tall man dressed in a blue jacket and jeans. His hair was standing up.

"Well, well, if it isn't Urameshi Yusuke. A man from the other world." Kazuki smiled at Yusuke, who just clenched his fist.

"That ball over there sounds like you're giving him problems. I'm not even interested in how you know my name. If I'm that famous, you should know to hand it over."

"Are we starting a fight already? You really are belligerent. Very well; I'll teach you a lesson." Kazuki's right hand glowed as his bracelet turned into a box with magic symbols carved all over it.

"An ÄRM?" asked Yusuke.

"Pandora's Box… open."


	16. Reigun, Negated?

Common Worlds: Chapter 16

* * *

><p>"MÄR-Heaven has some weird idiots," said Yusuke. He was talking about the mystery box that lay before his eyes, looking idle for a moment. There were weird symbols all around it, but none of it made any sense to him. What he was interested in was the contents of the box.<p>

An eerie feeling went up Yusuke's spine. _Territory? No, this is something completely different…_

The box opened up to Kazuki's command, and a horrible energy of pain and agony escaped from the box. It swirled around in the air like smoke before materializing into a creature, forming two big arms and two red eyes. The creature radiated death.

"Earth has a story about Pandora's Box," said Kazuki. "Pandora was given a box with all of the grief in her world tucked away inside it, and a god named Zeus ordered her to not open it. But she was filled with temptation, and thus, she released all of the evil onto Earth. _This box is the one and the same._ The story was partially true… Zeus is not real, but Pandora-"

"I'm tired of hearing your crap!" Yusuke delivered a blow onto Kazuki's stomach. The recipient of the punch choked, gasping for air. He jumped away before Yusuke could get him again.

"Yeah!" said Babbo, who was still held hostage by Kazuki. "Take what you deserve!"

The demon summoned by the box immediately reacted. Its arm became semi-transparent and swiped Yusuke; though there was no physical damage, Yusuke bolted with pain.

Kazuki caught his breath. "Embodiment of Despair: Notte can take all of the despair in your heart and translate it to pain," he said. "Something in the past must have had a huge impact on you. Was it a difficult opponent? A hopeless task? Just because you banish these feelings, doesn't mean that they are not there. Notte can find all of them."

Images of the deadly fighter Togoro, the human prodigy named Sensui, and various other foes flashed in Yusuke's brain. He took their beatings all over again, all at the same time.

"There's no escape from this pain. I think I'll take my leave. Let's go, Babbo." Kazuki grabbed Babbo's chain.

"No!" shouted Babbo. "Hey, kid! Snap out of it! You're not really getting hit! Hey! Can you even hear me?"

The voices of Yusuke's old enemies drowned out Babbo's voice. Yusuke clutched his head and screamed, as Notte grabbed hold of Yusuke's body. The pain was almost too much for him to handle.

"_Snap out of it, you fool."_ This voice was different and very familiar.

"_Asshole, what did I teach you about clearing your head? Have you learned nothing?"_ The voice of an old woman echoed in Yusuke's head.

"_Grr… make it stop!"_

"_Moron, if this is able to finish you, then you're a disgrace."_

"_Genkai… old hag…"_

"_Stop your whining. It costs a lot to broadcast from the Spirit World. Concentrate on your objective, Yusuke! What do you need to do?"_

"_I need to… save my world… stop laser…"_

"_Standing there won't do crap! Get up and fight!"_

"_Damn… damn… ahhhhhh!"_ Yusuke contracted all of his muscles. He balled up his fists and raised them into the air.

Kazuki suddenly turned around. "Magic power…?" Babbo stared at Yusuke wide-eyed.

"Gahhhhhhh!" With a burst of _Reiki_, Yusuke pushed away Notte and knocked it into the ground. The demon vaporized and returned to his box. Yusuke's pain disappeared.

"I don't know what it's called here, but back home, it's called _Reiki_. Get it right."

"Yeah, boy!" shouted Babbo.

Kazuki stared at him for a moment. _What suddenly changed him?_ Then, he clapped in applause.

"Very good, Urameshi Yusuke. Unfortunately, Notte is but one of many in Pandora's Box. My magic power pool is so large that I can use all of them, albeit with difficulty. I suggest you leave me be and run while you still can."

"Well, I suggest you keep your ass where it is so I can kick it as soon as possible," said Yusuke.

Kazuki walked closer to Yusuke. "Listen… I've journeyed around the world and collected all kinds of emotion in this box. If you want to die quickly… that's fine. Or unless you have a trump card in your sleeve?"

Energy sizzled around Yusuke's right hand. "Maybe I do."

"I heard that people can channel energy without the aid of an ÄRM in your world," said Kazuki. "But that's quite inefficient… enough talk. Give me a demonstration of your powers."

"You're gonna regret it…" Yusuke raised his right arm. His right hand formed the shape of a gun, and his index finger glowed. It required support from his left hand.

"_Rei-gun!"_ A burst of blue light shot out of Yusuke's fingertip and hit Kazuki point-blank. He was unsure of the result of the attack, but the new demon that appeared before him was disappointing.

Similar to Notte, this one was made of flaming energy. However, it looked artistic and elegant, and its color was almost purple. Its red eyes glared like rubies. Kazuki remain unscathed.

"Embodiment of Temptation: Illecta," said Kazuki.

"What the fuck did you do?" asked Yusuke.

"You shot raw energy out of your hand. That's a new idea," said Kazuki. "But as I've said… it's inefficient. Embodiment of Temptation: Illecta can nullify energy within a zone for a short duration… I can only use it five times. Judging from the look on your face, you have a similar predicament, no?"

_Damn… he's one step ahead of me. I have nothing left._

"No matter what you do, you cannot fight me at your level. If that was your trump card, then you're finished."

Babbo escaped from Kazuki's grip and bounced over to Yusuke. "Hey, you bastard! This guy's gonna beat you, and I'll make you eat your words when you're dead!" he screamed to Kazuki.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah! Hey Yusuke, you've got guts, you know that?"

"Thanks, Babbo… but I only have a few shots left, and he's got more guards than I do."

"Oh yeah? Well, I'll give you something that may help you… look at the top of my head."

Yusuke picked up Babbo. "This is… a ring?"

"ÄRMs come in the form of accessories. I'm the only exception. This is a Nature ÄRM that enhances one's physical ability, a Strength Ring."

Yusuke removed the ring from Babbo's head and put it on his right index finger. "Thanks. I feel much better already!"

"Alright! Now go kick some ass!" Babbo said. He jumped enthusiastically.

"But don't you need the ring?" asked Yusuke.

"Nah, with you around, I don't need to get around by myself anymore."

"That ring won't help you," said Kazuki. "It depletes your magic power and enhances your physical strength only. Your so-called _Rei-gun_ is even more useless, now."

"Who said I need the _Rei-gun_? Fist fights are my specialty!" Yusuke dashed up to Kazuki.

_He's fast!_ Kazuki thought.

Illecta attempted to protect its master, but Yusuke ripped it apart. The energy debris returned to Pandora's Box. Yusuke proceeded to Kazuki and punched his chest, cracking a few ribs. Yusuke formed his _Rei-gun_ hand again.

"Try to block this!"


	17. Gargoyle's Appearance

Common Worlds: Chapter 17

* * *

><p>Yusuke and Kazuki fought for almost two hours, with Babbo cheering Yusuke on. With his new Strength Ring, Yusuke was able to match Kazuki's creatures of malice in his Pandora's Box. In fact, Kazuki seemed to tire out as Yusuke knocked out the box in his hands and gave him a good jab at the face. Everything seemed to flow just the way Yusuke had wanted.<p>

Maybe too easily.

Babbo noticed this. "Hey Yusuke, stop! There's something wrong with this guy!"

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm winning!"

"That's the problem," said Babbo. He leapt into the air and supported himself with the hammer. "Ever since you got that Strength Ring, Kazuki's way behind!"

Yusuke grinned. "That's how it's supposed to be in the first place!" He said. He kicked Kazuki in the stomach, and the impact blew him away.

"The Strength Ring isn't supposed to give you that much power; he's falling down too easily."

Kazuki got up and stretched his hip. "Well, this didn't go as well as I thought. At this rate, I'll start asking for Peter to start stabbing me to keep myself in shape…"

"What the hell? He got up after a beating like that?" exclaimed Yusuke.

"I told you, kid! People are different around here!" said Babbo.

"He's right, you know," said Kazuki. "That ring is your first ÄRM, right? Well, let me give you a free lesson. ÄRMs have various effects, some of them powerful; some of them are just run-off-the mill. Your ring gives you physical power – it's a great ÄRM, but the power given depends on the user's magic power, or what you call _Reiki_."

"I think that my _Reiki_ is high enough!" said Yusuke.

"Your power is but a fraction of mine. Here in MÄR-Heaven, people are not as strong physically, because this world is designed to create perfect harmony between magic and matter. In your world, the gravity is much higher, but it affects your spiritual capacity. After many centuries, humans have their powers regressed. Exposure to this world's atmosphere does restore some magic, but due to the laser drawing in force from your world, you have benefited from nothing."

"It's too bad that we're both out of juice," said Yusuke. "You were too reckless and used up a lot of energy to test me. _I hate that type of people_."

"Am I really done? I still have lots of power in reserve…" Kazuki took out a stone from his pocket. "Remember these?"

"I've seen them before… Those were used to power the laser!" exclaimed Yusuke. "You bastard! So you carried a battery with you this whole time?"

"I admit that it was slightly cowardly," said Kazuki. "Be grateful that this stone is on a much smaller scale than usual." He held up the green shining jewel; it burst into green flames before encircling Kazuki's body. Kazuki seemed to be absorbing the flames.

"That's bullshit!" shouted Babbo. "Now we're at a disadvantage!"

"We were down by one this whole time," said Yusuke. He gritted his teeth and balled up a fist. "He had it all along, knowing that we would both wear ourselves out before he revealed his trump card. The problem is, what he said was right. The Strength Ring took a lot of my _Reiki_, and I only have one shot left at the _Rei-gun_… but he's probably gonna block it."

"So we're really done for, eh?" said Babbo. "I guess I won't meet Ginta after all… and to think that I had my hopes up…"

Yusuke's eyes widened. "Hang on… did you say Ginta? I know who he is! He's coming here, right this instant! No… he can't find us!"

"I have an idea!" said Babbo. "Give him a signal!"

Kazuki walked towards Yusuke. "Calling for backup is unacceptable."

"And refilling your energy is somehow legal? No way, asshole. Piss off." Yusuke spat on the ground.

"What can you do to stop me?" asked Kazuki. "In a matter of seconds, Notte will rip you to shreds. Or better yet, it can expose even more of your past grievances…" He opened Pandora's Box. The same terrible sound and energy that had once engulfed Yusuke came out again, this time in its full size.

Yusuke took a deep breath. "Well, if this fails, I can always look forward to the Spirit World." He pointed his finger at the sky. "_Rei-gun!_"

A blue stream of light flashed into the sky, ripping a hole in the clouds. "Holy shit! I had that much power left?" said Yusuke, as he looked at his steaming finger suspiciously.

"Don't bother yourself, kid," said Babbo. "That's nothing compared to this guy's full power."

Kazuki pointed at Yusuke. "Go, Notte! Despair Hold! Too bad it had to end this way, Urameshi Yusuke!"

Notte advanced swiftly and choked Yusuke, lifting him up into the air. Dark energy surrounded Yusuke's body and entered through his eyes. Old memories erupted in his mind again.

"_What a pathetic way to die! Being the fodder of a bunch of fish…" Rando, the demon thief of techniques, had said._

_Kuwabara's face showed up, as Yusuke was still in bondage by Rando's _Yoki-_thread._

"_You're scum, Urameshi!" he said._

_Kazuki showed up among all of his old memories. He brought up a new image – all of his friends slain on some sort of battlefield._

_The ground beneath Yusuke was in the shape of a grid. "The Dark Tournament?" He thought. "No, this is different."_

"_Checkmate!" said a voice in the sky. "You lose, Kurama!"_

_Yusuke looked behind him. The interdimensional laser's massive crystal lay in ruins. The man named Alviss crawled to the laser. "Defend…"_

"Wait," said Yusuke. "This isn't a memory!"

"Indeed," said Kazuki. "I showed you the future, more or less what's going to happen. I saw the future, Yusuke. I only abridged it for you to understand quickly."

"Sucks for you," said Yusuke. "I don't give a damn about the future."

Suddenly, the visions stopped. A huge red fist met with Notte's face and pushed it into the ground. Yusuke fell down to the ground, and he looked up to a giant floating sky-blue crystal. No… it was a giant red demon, suspended in the air.

"Yusuke!" a voice came from the demon. "It's me, Babbo! Ginta is here!"

Yusuke looked to the right. There Ginta stood, straight up, emitting a strange aura.

"Yusuke, hurry and get up! You're in Gargoyle's attack radius!"

"Ginta," said Yusuke. "You couldn't have arrived at a better time."

"I saw your beam," said Ginta. "I rushed over here as fast as I could; I needed to get some magic stones, but I only found three."

"Three's good enough," said Babbo.

"Anyway, when someone controls a Guardian, that person's movement is limited," said Ginta. "I can't exactly walk away."

Yusuke walked over to Ginta. "Alright, I'll be your backup!"

Kazuki's face turned serious. "Don't piss me off. Notte, destroy his Guardian!"

Notte and Gargoyle locked hands and struggled, but after a few seconds, the Gargoyle easily overpowered it.

"What?" exclaimed Kazuki.

"My magic power has gone up," said Ginta. "I'm not a child anymore. Obviously, you have done some research on all of us and brought enough energy to fight us. Pandora's Box is extremely difficult to fill up, and you assumed that your power was enough to defeat us."

Kazuki gritted his teeth. "How… how do you know this?"

"It's obvious. Every opponent we have faced so far in this world looked as if they were holding back their magic," said Ginta. "Nil must have limited the use of magic out of each of you, so you wouldn't reveal your trump cards too early."

Gargoyle grabbed Notte by the head and shoved it into the ground. It erupted into dark energy, which retreated to Pandora's Box.

"It's over," said Ginta. "Unless you can somehow use your real power, nothing in that box can defeat me."

"Alright!" said Yusuke.

"We need to group up," said Ginta. "Head over to Lestava immediately."

"Grr… this isn't over, Toramizu Ginta! Embodiment of Anger: Ifris!" Kazuki summoned a fire bird from his box and hopped onto its back. "Next time… I'll kill both of you." The bird's wings ignited like a rocket, sending Nil into the sky.

Gargoyle glowed and turned back into a metal ball and hammer. Babbo gave a large grin. "Well, Ginta, it's nice to meet you again. You've really grown up."

"Thanks," said Ginta. "Now… let's hurry to Lestava Castle. I have Andarta right here." He pointed to the ring on his finger.

"You're really powerful," said Yusuke. "How did you do that?"

Ginta sighed. "Actually, I bluffed. That was all of my power. I only broke his confidence and stopped him from adding magic to his Guardian. If that didn't work, Kazuki's demon would surely have defeated me."


	18. Pandora's Secret! Meeting at Lestava

Common Worlds: Chapter 18

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry to hear about your loss," said Snow to Jack. Her tiara glittered as she tilted her head. "If you want, I can give you some more land next to the castle."<p>

Snow, Jack and Alan were standing in the corridor, away from the hearing range of anyone else in Lestava Castle.

"No," said Jack. "That land was irreplaceable. It belonged to my father, and he already sacrificed so much to protect it!" Tears welled up in his eyes. Jack balled up his fists. "I swear, if I see that bastard again…"

"Can you give a description of the man?" asked Alan. "Like, his name? What he looks like? What kind of ÄRM he used?"

"His name was Kazuki," said Jack. "He's a bit shorter than you, and has this cloak around him. He carried a box called Pandora's Box, but I have no idea what Pandora is or anything. There were Guardians inside that box, and their powers were fueled by emotion. However, the emotions I sensed were not his. They almost had their own life forces."

"Pandora's Box?" Alan asked rhetorically. "He probably made it up. That thing is just a myth."

"Have you ever heard of its story?" asked Dorothy, who just walked by.

"Its story?" asked Jack.

"There are two versions of the story. I have just learned of the second one recently. In our world, the tale goes like this:

"There was once a woman named Pandora who lived many millennia ago. Back then, the world was much different than what it is now. Back then, ÄRMs did not exist. People carried regular weapons around to defend themselves during the warring era. Very few people possessed magical items. After seeing so many people wounded or dead on the battlefields, Pandora prayed to the deity of hope for a way to end the violence.

"Of course, magic is never easy to obtain. Pandora's gift came with a risk – if she happened to fail to change the world within a week, her body would be ripped apart to shreds. Sorcerers believe that this was the origin of Darkness ÄRMs. Pandora was given a choice of the item she received. She knew that evil emotion would never be destroyed, so she asked for a box to contain everything in once place, with a perfect seal that only allowed the box to open from the outside – possibly the first Dimension ÄRM.

"It worked perfectly; travelling from place to place, Pandora absorbed enough evil in seven days to end her curse. But inside the box, the negative energy converged, evolving into creatures of celestial form. We know of them as Guardians today. Fearing the power of these creatures, Pandora made a terrible mistake: she began collecting emotions of hope and created Elpis, to control the demons. With bits of hope missing from the world, malefic energy appeared once again. But Pandora was too obsessed with power, and used the demons for her own selfish purposes. Finally, the demons themselves considered her to be useless, and tricked her to relinquishing the ownership of the box, and then she was subjected to her original curse of mutilation. The box banished itself into the void and was then eradicated by the null space."

"Well, obviously the box survived," said Alan.

"But I doubt that the energy inside remained," said Dorothy.

"Wait!" said Jack. "What if he refilled the box, after somehow learning the process?"

"This is a _story_," said Dorothy. "It might not even be the same box."

"I think I know what destroyed my house and killed my wife," said Jack.

"Pano was killed too?" gasped Snow.

"Yeah, the fire-bird-thing took her too."

"There is a version of Pandora's Box in our world, too," said a strange voice. "It is far different and probably fiction."

"Who was that?" asked Snow.

Dorothy produced a metal broom out of nowhere. "Show yourself!"

"I have no intention to fight, for I am an ally," said the voice. From the shadows came a man with long red hair, and wearing a college uniform, not that the others knew what it was.

"Those clothes… you're from the other world?" asked Alan.

"Yes. My name is Kurama."

"This guy saved my butt today!" another voice came from the opposite direction. Suddenly, a window opened, and a yellow-haired man dressed in a red shirt hopped into the hallway.

"Nanashi!" exclaimed Jack.

"Long time no see, Jack," said Nanashi. "How's Pano?"

Everyone stared down solemnly. "Judging by your expressions," said Kurama, "you were attacked too?"

"Pano, my wife, was killed."

Kurama walked up to Jack. Nanashi looked over to him, his usual playful face gone. "I am sorry," said Kurama. "Perhaps you can speak to her spirit."

"Her spirit?" asked Jack.

"You have great power inside you," said Kurama. "It's more than enough to see ghosts."

"Yeah, but people don't stay on MÄR-Heaven when they die. I have no idea where she is right now."

"Perhaps. But keep your hopes up. On another note, you mentioned Pandora's Box?"

Jack's face lit up. "Yeah! That was what that Kazuki guy used to burn down my land. A fire demon came out of the box."

Kurama put his hand to his chin. "Nanashi and I were also attacked by a strange weapon. A child named Peter had a dagger that reduced the age of its targets."

"Sounds like Loco," said Alan.

"Loco?"

"Nevermind."

"Anyways, I'm curious as to how these ÄRMs work. They have such random effects, compared to the weapons and spells in my world," said Kurama.

"Tomorrow I'm going to fill you in on this world," said Dorothy.

"I'll help, too," said Nanashi.

A guard ran up to the crowd. "Your majesty, Ginta and a man in strange clothing has entered the castle!"

"Ginta? We better hurry and meet them!" said Snow.

All of them ran to the main entrance of the castle, where a wounded Yusuke and Ginta sat on the floor. Babbo laid beside them.

"Ginta!" said Dorothy.

"It's Yusuke!" shouted Kurama.

Yusuke groaned. "Kuwabara isn't back yet?"

"Kuwabara? Another friend of yours?" asked Jack.

"Yes," answered Kurama.

"Now that I think about it, Alviss isn't back, either," said Alan. "They must have met already."

"The guys here are really brutal," said Yusuke. "One guy pulled some Pandora's Box-shit on me. He ate my _Rei-guns_."

"Pandora's Box?"

"I think that we need to have a thorough discussion on our enemies as soon as possible," said Kurama. "Everyone should contribute."


	19. Hiei's First Strike

Common Worlds: Chapter 19

* * *

><p>Alviss and Kuwabara quickly returned, following Yusuke and Ginta. With everyone from the other world assembled in the castle, Snow ordered a convention in the War Room.<p>

Inside, the walls were heavily decorated with Weapon ÄRMs that have been released. From left to right, the ÄRMs progress in technology; the first one seen was a simple knife, followed by a dagger. Further down the line was a bow and arrow. More intricate and eccentric weapons were shown towards the end, such as whips and saws. Finally, at the end, early pistols and even an automatic prototype were shown.

Everyone sat around a circular table, with Lestava's insignia carved onto its surface.

"We have been developing new designs for ÄRMs," said Snow. She pointed to a small pistol. "These guns can shoot raw energy charged by the user. Sometimes, a person could also use a small metal pellet as ammunition."

"Parallel Development," said Kurama. "Only, in this world, things develop in different parts of the time stream."

"Do you have guns too in your world?" asked Alviss.

"Yes. They are harbingers of disaster… they cause most of the violence these days… and yet they are necessary. With the absence of magic for most people in our world, we need such weapons to adapt to the ever-changing world."

"I can't imagine a world without magic," said Dorothy.

"Alright, let's begin. First, we need to discuss our world," said Snow. "Alan, could you do the honors?"

"I'd be happy to," said Alan, who was standing in the corner.

"Alright, well, the first thing you guys need to know is where we are. We're all the way in the south…" Alan walks over to the table and puts his finger on a circular inscription on the side of the table. Suddenly, the Lestava symbol disappeared, and it was replaced by a map of MÄR-Heaven. He pointed to Lestava on the map.

"The laser is relatively close to us; our researchers are still investigating about any side effects from the energy. Apparently, we have one month before the worlds merge. It takes no time at all to get there due to our Andartas, so we need to use this time to train. As many of you have seen, we are far outclassed by these people; we could barely win with their handicaps."

"The Peter boy mentioned something about how he needed to bring more ÄRMs," said Kurama. "Also, the only reason I won was because of his ignorance of my past."

"Exactly. These guys were barely flexing when they fought you. If they went all out, none of you would survive. Ginta, it's been a while since you exerted your magic power, right? Did you notice your weakness when you used Babbo?"

"Yeah," said Ginta. "I was at full power, but it didn't feel like I could really move…" Babbo bounced over to Ginta. "We still don't have all of the magic stones, either."

"I have them," said Alan. "You can go get them later. Now…" he manipulated the table again. This time, the surface displayed images of various ÄRMs. "Look around the room. These are ÄRMs when they are activated. They take the form of accessories, normally.

"There are nine types of ÄRMs:

Simple ÄRMs are everyday objects that some chaser probably made for his amusement, or for practical uses, like kitchenware.

Weapon ÄRMs are very important: they are basically what they are called. Each weapon has its own ability and hidden power.

Holy ÄRMs induce benign effects and magic. They are used to heal or protect.

Darkness ÄRMs are the opposite: they curse the targets, but usually come with a cost for the user.

Dimension ÄRMs are used as transportation or storage; that is, they work with dimensions.

Guardian ÄRMs are creatures summoned to protect and fight for the user. The user's actions are limited when a Guardian ÄRM is used.

Nature ÄRMs invoke powers of nature, such as the elements. Yusuke, your Strength Ring is considered as a Nature ÄRM.

Ghost ÄRMs are among the rarest; they allow one's body to 'fuse' with the ÄRM itself.

Babbo is a special ÄRM that is in his own class.

ÄRMs may not be as powerful as the spells from your world, but they are much more versatile and can be used to assist you."

"Thank you, Alan. Now, who wants to fill us in on your world?" asked Dorothy.

"That will be me," said Kurama.

"Yeah, I don't have much to say," said Kuwabara.

Kurama began: "Our world is actually three different realms: the Human World, the Demon World, and the Spirit World. In our world, human commoners are oblivious to the spiritual arts, or what you call magic. Very rarely do you find people who can communicate with demons or spirits. That is the reason why our _Reiki_ arts develop anyway – to defend against the malicious elements.

"I am a demon myself. I am in human form currently, but I can revert with the right power. We demons were once interacting with humans freely, but a new movement in the Spirit World forced a boundary to form. Today, it is slowly dissolving. Each demon has some sort of power, and physically we are mostly superior to humans. There are magical weapons, but spells are most often used, along with raw energy.

"Recently, a new category of humans developed: psychics. They are slightly more durable physically, and each psychic is blessed with a random power."

"When he says random, he means _random_," said Yusuke. "These powers range from mind reading to controlling shadows."

"One of our main enemies is a psychic – Fubuki Miura. He is the splitting image of the man named Nil," said Kurama. "I assume they are counterparts. Fubuki has a deadly effect: within his _territory_, he can break anything he touches with his bare skin. _Territories_ are the areas that psychics create to activate their abilities. His accomplices, Sho and Yuu, can create ice and dimensional doors, respectively."

"That's three enemies," said Alviss.

"Let's try to name more. Kazuki, the one who melted down my house, holds Pandora's Box."

"He's probably the second deadliest," said Yusuke. "He can nullify _Reiki_. Also, we have no clue what else he has up his sleeve."

"There's Peter the Ripper," said Nanashi. "That kid's creepy."

"So far we know that his weapon temporarily reduces age," said Kurama. "That's dangerous for you people because an infant is much easier to kill than an adult."

"There's a girl named Crystal," said Kuwabara. "She controls glass. Tricky things, they were." He put his finger to his chin in thought.

"Finally, there's Nil," said Yusuke. "He carries around a white light-saber or something. Only it can explode in your face."

"Those flares are unstoppable," said Alviss. "I've tried blocking but they are too powerful."

"There you go," said Alan. "Now we can get down to business."

* * *

><p>Somewhere on a distant land, a giant worm roamed around the wasteland. On its back stood two people – a man and a woman.<p>

The man was short, donning all black with black hair and white tinges in it. A sword laid on his waist.

The woman was something completely different: She had an eye-patch and bandages and wore colorful clothing. Half of her body was perfectly normal. The other half appeared to be burned off and covered with bandages and mechanics.

"Well, Hiei, it seems that our world is disturbed again," said the woman.

Hiei sighed. "Why me…"

"Yusuke and his friends are probably at the new world now. Why don't you join them?"

"Things change, Mukuro," said Hiei. "Kurama can have all the fun he wants. I'm staying here. I worked hard to stay here."

"But what if… they are finding a way to get stronger?" said Mukuro.

"Pfft. Nice try, woman," said Hiei. "Last time you said that I ended up cleaning up giant frog guts for a week."

"I don't know… but think about it. This new world is a place where only one person from our world has ever touched it," said Mukuro. "What if there's some rare treasure there?"

"Go to hell," said Hiei. "Stop trying to send me away."

"We're in hell already, remember? If this world merges with us, there might not even be a hell for us."

Hiei grumbled. "I suppose you're right." He prepared to jump into the sky.

* * *

><p>Hiei made it to the laser building without anyone catching sight of him. In front of the crystal and beam, a man stood guard but appeared to be unarmed.<p>

"Hey kid, go home," he said. "This isn't a place for you to play."

"Kid?" Hiei asked. He was infuriated. "Do not call me a child, human."

"Haha! The people in this world are funny," he said. Hiei caught onto a few words he said. _This world?_

"Well… it seems like one casualty wouldn't hurt… Lord Nil wouldn't mind…" the man showed off his ring on his right hand. "Weapon ÄRM: Shark Pike!"

The ring glowed, and a long weapon materialized in his hand. The tip resembled the teeth of a shark.

Hiei cupped his lips in curiosity. "Huh. This Nil person already made an army. He's quite good. And that weapon is interesting…"

"Die!" shouted the man. He lunged at Hiei, but suddenly, his eyes widened as he fell in pieces.

"…but so terribly weak," finished Hiei.


	20. The Architect, Daedalus

Common Worlds: Chapter 20

"Place thou heart in thy circle of fire.

Adjust your spirit and mark of your soul

And then I will answer the voice of thee."

After stepping into the portal, Hiei found next to a laser similar to the one found in his world. However, it radiated a different kind of energy, and one could say that they were like polar opposites. He walked a few steps and found himself surrounded by what appears to be the walls of a castle, only this one was eccentric in design. The walls were flat and solid, hinting on the fact that no bricks were used to build them. It was as if the building grew from the ground.

"If this is the enemy's territory, the laser shouldn't be left here so easily…" said Hiei. Sure enough, right next to the laser stood a young man wearing golden-white robes, with a large blue triangle as the design.

"Another freak?" asked Hiei. "Who are you?"

"I feel not obliged to speak to thee, for

Thou has not allowed for the deepest way

Of speech. Again, may I ask that you will

Place thou heart in thy circle of fire," said the man. He waved his arms and summoned exactly what he suggested. Hiei noticed the glow on his bracelets.

"I suppose that I should step in?" Hiei walked into the glowing ring on the ground, and the fires erupted.

"Here, thou may express the thoughts most honest-"

"Yeah, cut the crap. Can you speak normally?" asked Hiei.

"What do they call thee?" asked the man.

"Hiei," he replied. For some reason, he answered without trying to resist. "You have a strange power," said Hiei.

"Strange, you say?"

"See, you can use the right words."

"Alas, my form of speech belongs to myself. Thou shall not insult thy tongue, for thou is in my power."

"Whatever," said Hiei. "Tell me who you are, what you are doing to the other world, or I'll kill you." He drew his sword.

"You are rash," said the man. He raised his left hand, and an opening suddenly appeared on one side of the wall. The opening began to seal off to form a door. This time, Hiei scanned his body and did not see any glowing accessories.

"So that isn't a weapon you guys use?" asked Hiei.

"Yes, thy answer is correct. For my power is something known in thy other world, thou is familiar to the term _psychic_."

"A psychic?" asked Hiei. "At least you are human. I can finish you off easily, then." Hiei swung his sword, but it was caught by two poles that sprung from the ground. Each pole had the same design as the castle, and they all looked like miniature buildings.

"Thou are still confined in thy _territory_," said the man. "Thou would be wise to silence thy tongue."

"You still haven't answered my question; who are you?"

"I am called… Daedalus," he said. His sparkling green eyes shined in the light of the laser. He fitted his hands together to form a triangle with his index fingers and thumbs. "I am the grand the architect, the creator."

"Do you have anything to do with the laser?" asked Hiei. He spun his blade.

"The castle… the laser… the tower… all that is manifested, I am their creator."

"That explains how they popped up so fast. Your power is actually kinda scary," said Hiei. "You must have an insane amount of _Reiki_ to make buildings from thin air."

"Thy compliment is accepted," said Daedalus. "But unfortunately, I must strike thee down for lord Nil." Daedalus frees Hiei from the circle of fire. Then, he takes a keychain from his left robe pocket.

"I summon thee: Titan," he called. The keychain glowed, and from that light sprung forth a massive metal golem. Two holes for eyes ignited with red fire, and the golem pounded its fists together.

"You fight me with a tin robot?" questioned Hiei. "That's depressing." Hiei made quick work of Titan; he jumped up and sliced the head off. The chain in Daedalus' hand cracked into pieces.

"You possess magic power," he said. "Thou have impressed me."

"If that's the best shot you've got," said Hiei, "then I can easily kill you." Hiei pointed his sword at Daedalus. "I thought that this would be much more interesting." He walked casually over to Daedalus and raised his arm. "Oh well."

But before the sword met his head, it shattered into pieces. _This is… raw exertion of Reiki?_ Hiei's eyes widened.

"Thy blade is not tolerated in the _territory_ of yours truly," said Daedalus. "You will engage with words, or not at all."

"You're damn annoying!" said Hiei. He gripped the remainder of his sword and attempted to stab the man. "I've had it with your stupid voice!"

Two slabs of marble erupted from the ground and built themselves around Hiei's arms, suspending him in place. He dropped the sword handle.

Daedalus shook his head and put his hand in his cloak. "It is a shame that thou must end here," he said. His right hand came out with a golden pistol.

"Die."

Daedalus put his finger on the trigger, and Hiei braced for impact. The bullet traveled at a high speed, though Hiei could track it. However, the bullet bounced off Hiei's chest and left a bruise.

"What?" asked Hiei.

"Actually, I have no intention of killing you. One should not bother with worms that squirm in the ground." The marble around Hiei relaxed their grip and fell apart. Hiei gritted his teeth. "Did you just call me incompetent?"

"If that is how you perceive me," said Daedalus. "Now leave me be; I cannot be bothered by the likes of thee."

"…do you have an iodine deficiency?" asked Hiei.

"I have sufficient amounts of iodine, sir," said Daedalus. "Now I need thou to leave this place; I must meet with Lord Nil."

"You're not going anywhere," said Hiei. He swung his sword at Daedalus, but the sword shattered as a pillar of earth intercepted the slice.

"Replace your weapon," said Daedalus. "And if thou release any magic in thy _territory_, thou shall feel the full force of thy fury of Lord Nil."

Hiei rolled his eyes. This guy was insane, but something in his voice made him seem like he was telling the truth. Whoever this Nil person was, he had some sort of reputation.

"Whatever," said Hiei.

"I understand that thou shall return," said Daedalus.

* * *

><p>Nil was greeted by an attendant in his castle.<p>

"Would you like something to drink, my lord?" asked the servant woman. She had a standard maid's uniform, with the black dress and white apron. However, there was a ying-yang symbol embroidered on the apron.

"Sure, I think I'll have some cranberry juice," replied Nil. "And you, Miura?"

"I'll just have water."

The maid took a bow and walked away. Nil turned to Fubuki and smiled, his right eye slightly off from his left.

"Well, Miura? Only a few days and I have already gathered an army. It looks like I was right after all."

"Yeah, you are," said Fubuki. "But I didn't doubt you one bit, that you would gather enough people for this once-in-a-lifetime chance."

"There won't be a lifetime for us anymore," said Fubuki. "Once the worlds merge, I will use the Unix Crystal to mould it into something more appropriate, a combination of the better of the two worlds."

"Do you already have a plan?" asked Fubuki. "I mean, how can you handle the raw power of the crystal?"

"I have thought about that. I realized that we have a secret weapon on our side, Miura – come hither, Daedalus."

Daedalus entered the room, as if he was expecting an audience with Nil.

"Lord Nil, with all sincerity, I have failed to eliminate thy enemy of the cause."

Fubuki looked at the new person carefully, and then he widened his eyes.

"You haven't-"

"Yes. I found the link between the worlds. Just like Koyuki and Snow, Daedalus is but part of a chain. Sadly, his counterpart died as a commoner in your world, so I rescued him. He also acquired the same type of psychic power that is available to your world, only from a different source. He is known as the "architect" – creating magnificent buildings-" Nil waved his hands around the room – "in the blink of an eye. Alas, his mind is plagued by these ideas, and he may act… different.

"One day, I will take away his power and grant him the sanity that he deserves. The Holy ÄRM in my possession will protect me from the insanity that I may contract. With his ability, I can harness the Unix Crystal, which, as you may have guessed, is located on the laser itself."

"And what do we do with all these people?" asked Fubuki. He looked out the window and saw thousands of people dressed in the ying-yang uniform standing around, waiting for orders.

"That's going to be a secret."


	21. Gate of Training! Battle of Willpower

Common Worlds: Chapter 21

The whole continent shook as Nil deployed his soldiers all over MÄR-Heaven, easily overthrowing any resistance presented to him. Nothing in this world, natural, magical or artificial, stood as a barrier effective enough to withstand his swarm. Of course, Nil was a gentleman, and he always gave people a chance to surrender, giving up all land and resources, and occasionally they did. But when they didn't… every living being was slaughtered.

Nil himself did not show up anywhere; he stayed in his castle, nice and comfortable, always with a glass full of some innocent drink a child would enjoy; today, it is apple juice. However, he drank it in the manner of a sophisticated man, sipping a little bit at a time from a delicate and expensive wine glass. His trademark white suit, along with his white hair, made people question his sanity. Of course, no one dared to express this idea, and many even avoided thinking about it as Nil may have telepathic powers.

Nil's army grew in size as he swallowed up every village, town, or city that stood in his way. "A toast to our new friends!" he would say with a cheerful smile, each time they obtained a victory.

But that's not important…

Down in Lestava Castle, Yusuke and Kuwabara met up with Alan in the main hall. With his arms crossed, Alan looked down upon the two foreigners.

"Well," he said, "If you're gonna fight these guys, you gotta join my training program. Interested?"

"Pfft. Bring it on, old man," scoffed Yusuke. He raised a fist. "What could be worse than the shit Genkai gives us?"

Kuwabara shivered. "Don't remind me…"

Alan chuckled. "Alright, let's go to the training grounds, then."

"Wait, where is that place, anyway?" asked Yusuke.

Alan cleared his throat, then took out a keychain accessory. The tip was in the shape of a dragon's head, biting on a ring with the "o" shape facing outward its mouth.

"What? Not one of those ÄRM-thingies again!" exclaimed Kuwabara.

"In this place, the ratio of time is 10,000:1. Ten thousand days will pass as one.

Dimension- ÄRM! Gate of Training!"

The keychain glowed, and the dragon head spat out the ring. Light engulfed the floor below Yusuke and Kuwabara. When the light cleared, a door opened below their feet.

"Gah!" they screamed. Kuwabara grabbed for the edge of the door as he fell, but Yusuke regained his composure.

"Alright old man, show me what you got!" Yusuke said as he pulled Kuwabara's legs.

"Wah! I don't want to go!"

Against Kuwabara's wishes, they were both dragged down into the strange room below. Mortar and ash covered the walls and floor. The door disappeared above their heads, and a cloud of ash and soot fell onto the floor.

"Where are we?" asked Kuwabara.

"I dunno. Let's check this place out," said Yusuke.

The room was connected to a hallway of the same sort, and Yusuke noticed that there were multiple tunnels that were rashly dug out. Torches were scattered all over the place, illuminating the dark corridors.

"Yow! It's hot here," said Yusuke. He dug his left ear. "I wonder what kind of place Alan sent us to?"

Kuwabara examined the ground. "Hmm… there are lots of volcanic rocks here."

"Shut up about the rocks. I'm trying to get us out of here. Maybe we're in a mountain or something?" said Yusuke.

"No, that can't be right. The air is coming from the surface…" Kuwabara's eyes widened at the sight. "T-t-t-these are… diamonds…"

"Diamonds?" asked Yusuke. "They're just really big rocks."

"You really gotta pay attention in school," said Kuwabara.

"Dickweed. I don't go to school anymore, remember?"

"No… but if these are diamonds… and those rocks…" Kuwabara gulped.

"What's wrong?"

"Uhh… Urameshi? Let' s just blow ourselves up to the surface…" Kuwabara drew a _Rei-sword_ and started carving a hole in the ceiling.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Yusuke. "Stop messing with Alan's training gate-thing!"

Kuwabara stopped blinking. "Remember… when you said… it's hot in here?"

"Yeah…"

"And you said you saw diamonds…?"

"Yeah…"

"Well… we're in a stupid volcano."

Yusuke blinked twice at Kuwabara, and broke into laughter. "Wahaha! That's a good one. But you suck at the horror part."

"The fuck – Yusuke we're gonna die!" screamed Kuwabara. His sword turned into the shape of a drill, and he started pushing it into the ceiling.

"Calm your ass-"

Suddenly, the ground shook. Kuwabara's hole caved in.

"It's erupting! We're gonna die!" Kuwabara screamed.

Yusuke gritted his teeth. "Get a grip, Kuwabara! Alan sent us here for a reason. I'm gonna fire a _Rei-gun_ up, and we'll see how far down we are." He pointed his index finger at the ceiling and shot a blue ray of light. The energy bolt flew up… and up… and up… and up… and up… until it was invisible.

Kuwabara fell over. "We're gonna die!"

"Like I said, calm your ass! I'll think of something," assured Yusuke.

"Shut up! _Jigen-tou!_" Kuwabara changed the shape of his weapon and sliced the air. A sizzling sound echoed in the tunnel, and he stuck his arm into the floating hole. Immediately, he pulled his hand out and shuddered.

"There's… nothing… else… in there…"

"God damn it, Alan!" screamed Yusuke. "Are you trying to kill us?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara ran around in the labyrinth. Magma soon followed, flowing towards them like water.

"Holy shit it's magma!" screamed Kuwabara.

"Calm down, it's just a bit of magma. Just don't touch it."

"I'M A HUMAN! I'll disintegrate if I get CLOSE TO IT!" shouted Kuwabara.

"Then let's… make a run for it!" Kuwabara piggy-back rode Yusuke as they hastily moved toward whatever light they could find.

"Up there!" exclaimed Kuwabara. "I see light!"

"This must be the edge of the volcano," said Yusuke. "Hang on!"

"Speak for yourself! Don't drop me!"

Yusuke took a deep breath. Then, he jumped as high as he could, through a hole in the ceiling… only to arrive at another room.

"No! This can't be happening! How deep down are we?" said Yusuke.

"Dunno," said Kuwabara. He gritted his teeth. "The magma's getting to us! Do something!"

Yusuke clutched his right wrist with his left hand and turned around. "_Rei-gun!_"

A blue stream of light pushed the magma down the hole. However, a pillar of molten rock immediately rose from the same hole. The scorching heat grazed Yusuke's shoulder.

"Gyah!" Yusuke jumped out of the way. "It's no good! The only thing we can do is to focus our _Reiki_ and shield ourselves! Then, I'll charge two shots into one and fire up! Once that happens, use a sword to vault us to the top!"

"If I'm dead, I'll kill you in the afterlife!" said Kuwabara. He clapped his hands together. A faint veil of light surrounded him as he was engulfed by the magma.

"Yusuke! Are you dead yet?" he shouted through the magma.

"No! But I can barely move! I can't use my _Rei-gun_! There's too much focus needed to maintain this aura!"

"Try relaxing a bit!"

"Relax? Screw you! We're under the magma, dick head!" Yusuke glared at Kuwabara through the magma. "Use your _Jigen-tou_ to get rid of everything!"

"I'm in the same situation as you, idiot! Besides, it would only send everything back at us! There's no way out! You're gonna have to figure out a way to use your _Reiki_ while maintaining your barrier!"

Yusuke started sweating. Not because of the blazing heat, but because of his concentration. _Is this what Alan was getting at?_ He closed his eyes. _Think! I gotta direct my energy to different directions in my body!_"

"_Need some help?_" a strange voice popped into both of their heads.

"What? Who's there?" asked Kuwabara.

"_Who else, you dumbass? It's Alan. In your current condition, you'll drop dead on the battlefield. Strength means nothing here… you need to learn how to control your magic while under pressure._"

"I'm trying! But it's not working!"

Alan sighed. "_Imagine your magic power travelling through vein-like paths. Direct them towards wherever you need it, a little bit at a time. It takes practice._"

Yusuke took another deep breath. _What did Genkai say again? Discipline… I really wish I have it…_

_Man, it sucks to die here, in the GATE OF TRAINING. If I can't get past this, I'll be a clown. No! I'm not dying like this!_

"AHHHHHH!_ Rei-gun!_" Yusuke pointed his right hand into the air. "Double-barrel!" his middle finger inclined. Red and blue light shot into the ceiling, pushing through any obstacle in the way. Molten rock splashed in all directions.

"Kuwabara! Hurry up and get us out of here!"

Kuwabara shivered. "I… can't… do it…"

"_Think! Is there someone at home you need to protect?_"

"I… yes… sister… Yukina…"

"_Well what good are you if you're stuck down here? Hurry up and get out!_"

"Yes! I'll hurry up and get out! HAH!" Kuwabara widened his eyes and cupped his hands together. "Elongate!"

The _Rei-sword_ extended to the ground. "Grab on!" he shouted.

Surrounded by magma, Yusuke could barely breathe. His oxygen was running out. "Coming…"


	22. Yggdrasil and the Unix Crystal

Common Worlds: Chapter 122

**Sorry for the long wait! Many problems in the last 2 months led to tardiness.**

* * *

><p>Kuwabara's vaulting pole of <em>Reiki<em> sent himself and Yusuke zooming through the ground, with the magma catching up from below. As they got closer to the top, Kuwabara noticed light.

"There it is! The surface!" he said.

Kuwabara jumped at the light source while watching the lava flow below them. Yusuke coughed. "Damn! Can't you run any faster?"

"Why don't YOU try carrying a fatass like yourself, Urameshi?"

"That doesn't make sense!"

The molten rock rose up to Yusuke's bottom. "YEOW! Hot hot hot!"

"Shut up!" said Kuwabara. "We're almost there! Uh oh…"

"DON'T TELL ME YOU'VE SLIPPED! MOTHER-" Indeed, Kuwabara slipped on a rock and started falling.

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They yelled. Right before they were about to be incinerated, a blue light swallowed the duo and dropped them off on a grassy field.

"Pathetic!" said a gruff voice.

Yusuke got up. "Uh… what?"

Kuwabara sat up. "We're… alive?"

"You guys really couldn't handle that?" asked the tanned man.

"Ah! It's you!" exclaimed Yusuke. He pointed at the man's face. "Alan! Wait… did we fail?"

"Hell yes you did! And all because you've slipped on a rock!"

"I slipped? It was that dumbass over there!" Yusuke pointed at Kuwabara.

"Let's see you carry 1000lb of dead weight!"

"The point is," said Alan, "that you guys have no coordination. Nil is thousands of times stronger than both of you combined. If you're gonna attack, I suggest that you pull your acts together and start working.

Listen… back then, during the War Games, Ginta had the same challenge. There was a person named Phantom who looked just like Nil. He had extraordinary power, and none of us could challenge him. But in the blink of an eye, Ginta obtained the magic power required to defeat Phantom. I think that, as adults, I can expect nothing less from you guys."

Yusuke dug into his ear with his pinky. "Huh? You said something, old man?"

Alan stared at him wide-eyed. "Ah… never mind."

But Kuwabara received a different effect from the story. He wiped his eyes with the sleeve. "That was so… touching! Urameshi, don't you feel inspired by that? If we work hard, eat right and rest well, and do everything he says, we can overcome any challenge!" Kuwabara's eyes flamed with determination.

"Yeah, I heard this crap before, but I really don't think that it's going to work. Besides, it's getting dark… I'm gonna go back."

"What are you talking about?" asked Alan. "It's been barely a second since you came back!"

"Huh?" asked Yusuke.

"Remember? The Gate of Training passes time 10000 times slower than the real world!"

Kuwabara took out a pair of glasses. "Don't you remember, Urameshi?" He gave a scholarly nod.

"We got a lot more work to do," said Alan. "Dimension- ÄRM! Gate of Training!" Alan activated his ÄRM again, and a different door popped up below the duo's feet.

"Gah! Not again!" they both exclaimed.

* * *

><p>Koenma scrambled around in the Spirit World library with Botan, frantically looking for something they don't even know. The bookshelves piled on for miles and miles into the air; it's an enigma how they even held themselves up.<p>

"There are so many books about other worlds," said Botan. She opened one of them. "There's a blue British 50's police box on this one. Apparently there's a guy who flies around his world in that box solving problems on other planets."

"Well, that doesn't concern us," said Koenma.

"How does the Spirit World get all this information?" asked Botan.

"The Spirit World is the peak of this world," said Koenma. "A long time ago, worlds were open to each other. I can't really describe it myself; not even my father knows about it."

"I found _MÄR_," said Botan. She picked it up from the ground. "You didn't put this one back." She flipped through the book. "Wow, this world is strange compared to ours. I wonder of Yusuke and the others will be alright in there. In that world, _Reiki_ is used as magic through various magical items called ÄRMs. They probably found those already, given their knack for finding trouble."

"Right now we need to find something that portrays fabric of the universe itself."

"What about that _Common Worlds_ book that you found?" Botan picked up another book.

"That book is way too complicated. I don't even understand the language that it's written in; all I could read were the footnotes that were written on the side. Oh yeah, I should give you a bit of a warning."

"What's that?" asked Botan.

Koenma cleared his throat and removed his pacifier. "One of them broke in here before. That's how they found out about MÄR-Heaven. Of course, I'm still not so sure yet."

"Well, if you won't tell me what we're actually aiming for, I have no idea where to search. There's absolutely no organization here," said Botan.

"I only know of one keyword," said Koenma. "Yggdrasil."

Botan blinked. "You mean the one from Norse mythology?"

"No," said Koenma. "The humans back then had plenty of knowledge, but they could not comprehend it. My strategy now is to look back in time and find clues from there."

Botan gave a nod and flew around the library. "Yggdrasil… Yggdrasil…"

Koenma perked up. "Botan, take a look at this one." He picked up a book that was simply called _Dream World._

"_Dream World?_" asked Botan. "That sounds nothing like what we need."

"MÄR-Heaven was described as a fantasy world," said Koenma. "A_ dream_." He opened up the book and flipped through a few pages. "Here it is, Botan. Yggdrasil, the world tree."

Botan read through the chapter. When she finished, her eyes stared into open space. "Yggdrasil… is… everything… all of us… are right on top of it."

"I don't think the information is that much for you to handle," said Koenma. "But our shock doesn't end here. You see, worlds are naturally imploding, when their energies are used up. That's _Reiki_, magic, mana, etc. When a world blows up, it leaves a hole on Yggdrasil. Remember that the tree is a living organism and is constantly repairing itself, like blood clotting."

"I don't understand the point," said Botan.

Koenma shivered. "These events… only happen naturally. The only ones capable of artificially causing novas like these were an ancient race."

"Were? A past tense?" asked Botan.

"They don't exist to us, even though they are always there. We don't even know their name; it's not written here."

"So what does it mean?"

Koenma looked at Botan. "This man, Fubuki, is trying to put two worlds together. He has no idea what the result will be, and frankly, neither do we. Another possibility is that there's an outside influence in that world controlling his actions and manipulating his thoughts. They are… trying to achieve the impossible. They intend to blow up these worlds to gain access to the void, where Yggdrasil sits."

"What?" exclaimed Botan. "Why would they want to do that?"

Koenma read the caption of the picture of the world tree. "_Infinite power is granted to the one who consumes the fruit of Yggdrasil._"

* * *

><p>"Infinite power is granted to the one who consumes the fruit of Yggdrasil," said Nil, who sat on his throne in the castle.<p>

"A question, my lord?" asked Daedalus.

"Ask away."

"How will thou survive among thy nova, if thou hath no protection?"

"That's a secret, my friend." Nil winked. "But I'll let you know soon enough, because you are a very, very important asset."

"Thou is a man of many secrets," said Daedalus. "What is thy fruit of Yggdrasil?"

"Truth is, I'm not so sure myself," said Nil. "But I know that, once the objective is complete, it will appear on the Unix Crystal."

"Thy Crystal sleeps, my lord."

"I am aware of that."

"How shall thou wake it?"

Nil paused for a moment. "When the two worlds collide, the Unix Crystal will descend from the laser holster. Once that happens, we will see the fruit of Yggdrasil rested on it."

"And what of my task?" asked Daedalus.

"Your job," said Nil, "is to create the perfect prison. But here's the catch: this isn't for our enemies… it's for us."

"I… understand."

"Good. Also, Daedalus, if anyone comments on your state of mind… know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"Yes, my lord."

"Right now, let's pay a little visit to Urameshi Yusuke." Nil called forth a bodyguard. "Tell the soldiers to mobilize. The target? Lestava Castle."

A servant entered the room with a bottle and a wine glass. He poured a red liquid from the bottle, and offered it to Nil.

Nil raised the glass at Daedalus. "Cranberry juice?"


End file.
